The 2018 training programme for government tourism officials from Portuguese-speaking countries began on Monday in Macau organised by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in cooperation with the Permanent Office of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries (Macau), the DST said.

The MGTO also noted that three training courses will be organised between March and July, lasting two weeks each, involving a total of around 30 government tourism officials from Portuguese-speaking countries.

The first group, which includes participants from Angola, Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe, on Monday, started the activities planned for this year, with a second group expected to arrive in Macau in May and a third in July.

The internship and training programme is intended to inform trainees about the daily activities of the MGTO and Macau’s tourism development, with the MGTO intending to strengthen mutual learning and exchange in the field of tourism between Macau and Portuguese-speaking countries.

It also aims to contribute to the training and development of human resources in the tourism sector of the countries concerned, in line with the goal of transforming Macau into a world centre for tourism and leisure 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. (macauhub)