MACAO: Macao, one of China’s two special administrative regions, is preparing to welcome visitors from the Middle East, its tourism chief said on Monday, as the city increases efforts to expand its halal food and Muslim-friendly travel options.
Located in the Pearl River Delta on China’s southern coast, Macao was a Portuguese colony for over 400 years. In 1999, its sovereignty was officially transferred back to China, which made it one of its two special administrative regions, alongside Hong Kong.
The city spans only 30 sq. km and has a population of about 700,000, who enjoy one of the world’s highest gross domestic products per capita.
Among Macao’s key sectors is tourism, which it recently started to orient also toward the Middle Eastern market. In February this year, the Macao Government Tourism Office sent a special trade delegation to Riyadh and Dubai to promote the city as a travel destination.
“It’s the first time that we are doing our own seminars there. We used to participate in the Arabian Travel Market for quite some years already, but really doing something on our own — it’s the first time that we’re doing that. It’s a new market which we are moving into,” MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes told Arab News.
