Attending the event was MGTO chief, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, and the Imam of the Islamic Association of Macau, Ding Shao Jie, who was once again the main presenter. Macao is looking to expand its tourism markets over the coming year, with a focus on Southeast Asia and Northeast Asian countries. Concrete steps have already been taken, including direct flights between Macao and Indonesia.

Macao is preparing step by step for Muslim visitors, tourism chief says.

Macao must make sure that its travel industry -understands Muslim tourists,- if the city is to fully develop such markets. Thats according to the head of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.nSpeaking to Macao News on the sidelines of the Global Tourism Economy Forum yesterday, the citys top tourism official said -First of all, we start with education and we start with awareness for the local industry.- She pointed out that training sessions had already been held for the local travel trade and said that increasing awareness of the cultural and dietary needs of Muslim travellers would come -step by step.-

-It doesnt mean that tomorrow 100 million Muslim visitors are coming to Macao,- she said. -We are making sure that the basics are there, making sure that the industry understands the needs of Muslim tourists , but its not going to be tomorrow. Earlier this month, the MGTO spent several days promoting Macao at a top travel fair in Indonesia – the worlds most populous Muslim nation, pointing out that -Indonesia ranks second among Macaos international visitor markets and fifth among the ten leading visitor source markets.- The move comes amid expectations that direct flights between Macao and Indonesia will kick off in October. However, Senna Fernandes said she had no information on when exactly the service would commence. With reporting by Gilbert Humphrey