Spotlight shines on Macao, a UNESCO World Heritage city

The APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting is an opportunity for its host city Macao to showcase its "world-class tourism facilities and reception capacity", said Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Tourist Office.

The city will also display its "unique culture that has integrated Eastern and Western features", she said.

In 2005, Macao's historical center was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, making it the 31st designated World Heritage site in China.

"The historical center does not refer to just one single scenic spot," the director explained. "It is a combination of regions and architecture including squares, churches and temples that demonstrate how Chinese and Western cultures have blended over the past 400 years."

"Tourists to Macao should not consider the city as just an entertainment venue," she told China Daily. "They should also pay attention to its cultural aspects."

According to statistics from the World Tourism Organization, Macao ranked 19th in terms of the number of international tourists it received last year.

The director said Macao's government attached great importance to the ministerial meeting and Chief Executive Chui Sai On took on the role as chairman of the meeting's organizing committee.

The meeting will promote cooperation between Macao and other APEC members and help the city become a "world leisure center", which is a target of the local government, the director said. She added that the authority planned to spend a year or two to create a long-term tourism plan to achieve their goal.

Delegates of the ministerial meeting will be invited to visit around Macao and the annual Macao International Fireworks Display Contest will be held during the meeting.

The director said that Macao had made some attempts to enter "smart tourism". In addition to the city's expanded WiFi coverage the government is considering using new media to promote and attract tourists, with digital devices replacing traditional guidebooks.

"We are now at the initial stages, but we hope to find opportunities to borrow experiences from other economies at the meeting," said the director.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn