The European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) 2025 Macao Summit is scheduled for 2 to 5 June. Heads from travel agencies associations across Europe will gather in Macao for their semi-annual meeting, along with experiencing firsthand the city’s unique advantages as a “tourism + MICE” international platform, helping to raise the destination’s international profile and diversify visitor source markets.
Hosted by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and co-hosted by SJM Resorts, S.A., the ECTAA 2025 Macao Summit will be held at Grand Lisboa Palace Resort.
Showcase Macao’s advantages as a “tourism + MICE” international platform
As the umbrella organization of the national-level associations of 32 European countries, ECTAA represents 80,000 travel agents and tour operators. Members from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Malaysia (international member), the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain, in a total of around 40 delegates, will be in Macao for the summit, creating a unique opportunity to promote the city’s potential as a tourism destination.
During the four-day summit, aside from ECTAA’s board meeting and general assembly, the program will also include two panel sessions with guest speakers under the theme “Developing Europe-Asia Commercial Relations in Tourism,” and “Strengthening the Impact of Member Organisations,” along with a business exchange meeting with local tourism stakeholders, a press conference, a Macao half-day tour and excursion to Hengqin.
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes will welcome delegates at the opening of the summit on 3 June morning, with the occasion also including remarks by ECTAA President Frank Oostdam. The first panel discussion session will follow, to zoom in on Europe-Asia market trends and partnerships opportunities, featuring Croatia and Portugal tourism representatives in China, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, among others.
Exchange with local trade to explore business opportunities plus experience destination’s potential
Another important part of the program is a business networking session for delegates to meet Macao travel trade on the opening day of the summit. The networking session will bring together the ECTAA members with representatives from local travel agencies, integrated resorts, hotels, airlines, convention and exhibition venues, destination management companies, among others, to explore cooperation opportunities to attract European travelers from different travel segments to Macao.
Delegates will also have the opportunity to experience Macao’s “tourism +” offerings on a half-day tour, as well as join a post-event familiarization visit to Hengqin’s main attractions organized by the Economic Development Bureau of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. A gala dinner co-hosted by MGTO and SJM will close the curtain of the event.
Stepping up efforts to reconnect with the European market
The ECTAA Macao Summit is one of the two major European tourism meetings MGTO will host this year, together with the 50th Congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT) scheduled for 2 to 4 December, expected to gather in Macao around 700 delegates. Hosting the events is part of MGTO’s efforts to prioritize reconnecting with travel trade to drive more visitor flows from Europe.
Gearing up for the events, Macao is being promoted by ECTAA as its “Preferred Destination 2025,” while multiple activities are being conducted with APAVT to showcase the destination to the Portuguese tourism industry.
In addition, online and in-person activities organized by MGTO with other partners are also ongoing to continue to tap into the European market, as part of the work to increase international visitor source markets and diversify the economy.
