The first of three groups of government officials from Portuguese-speaking countries this year began a two-week training course in Macau on Monday given by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), according to official information.

In cooperation with the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macau), the MGTO will give three training sessions this year to government tourism officials from Angola, Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Timor-Leste (East Timor).

According to the training schedule, a second group will arrive in Macau in July and a third in September, with training this year involving a total of 30 people.

The training programme includes internships in six departments of the MGTO, two days of meetings at the Institute of Tourism Training (IFT), along with visits to tourist facilities, historical and cultural heritage sites and other attractions in Macau.

The MGTO aims to strengthen tourism exchanges between Macau and Portuguese-speaking countries and contribute to the training and development of the human resources of the countries concerned, in line with the goal of transforming Macau into a World Tourism and Leisure Centre and a service platform for trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The MGTO signed Memoranda of Understanding for Tourism Cooperation with Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique in 2010, with Timor-Leste in 2013 and Angola in 2015.

Between 2012 and 2016, the MGTO trained a total of 98 government tourism officials from Portuguese-speaking countries. (macauhub)