Greater Bay Area Main Headline

Tourism Education and Training Base for Greater Bay Area officially launched at IFTM

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

The Tourism Education and Training Base for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) was launched officially at IFTM’s Mong-Há Campus. A plaque-unveiling ceremony took place on 13 December at the Grand Hall of IFTM.

Officiating guests at the ceremony included: the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Luo Shugang; the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Dr. Alexis Tam Chon Weng; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr. Yao Jian; and IFTM President, Dr. Fanny Vong.

After the ceremony, IFTM’s Dr. Vong and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Hengqin New District, Mr. Yang Chuan, signed a framework agreement on strategic cooperation between the 2 sides. Such collaboration would include creating a Hengqin training base, to organise training for talent of the leisure and tourism sectors, as well as to investigate a system for standardisation – across the Greater Bay Area – of tourism services.

With regard to the Tourism Education and Training Base for the Greater Bay Area, IFTM will – as a public-sector body working on behalf of Macao – coordinate its effort with partners in and outside the Greater Bay Area. This is in order to: provide a variety of training; offer conferences, forums and exchange opportunities according to the needs of the tourism industry; elaborate the function of the Tourism Education and Training Base to promote the development of such tourism education in the Greater Bay Area; and contribute in the development of the Greater Bay Area as a world-class tourism destination.

Dr. Vong noted in remarks during the ceremony that tourism was a major industry in Macao, and a great number of talent was needed to help expand the sector: Macao higher-education institutions actively contributed to provision of relevant training  for tourism industry within the Greater Bay Area, she added.

The Tourism Education and Training Base for the Greater Bay Area will offer practical training programmes as well as specialised training in relation to the culture and tourism of China. The base will also undertake training projects at the request of tourism departments of various regions, associations and companies; and launch market-oriented training for the sector; as well as conduct theoretical research on training within the tourism sector.

To implement Macao’s positioning as stated in the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area – i.e., to make Macao a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure, and a Commercial and Trade Co-operation Service Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries; to ensure Macao helps develop the Greater Bay Area as a world-class tourism destination; and that the city as a whole acts as a Tourism Education and Training Base – requires using Macao’s tourism education experience and Macao’s clear strength in the tourism sector.

Dr. Vong noted that the establishment of the Tourism Education and Training Base was a milestone for the Institute. It would help to construct a new platform for tourism education training in the Greater Bay Area, as well as to advance cooperation between various parties.