Image Source GGR ASIA

Senna Fernandes given two more years to serve as Macau tourism head

October 23, 2023 Macau Industry Updates

Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes has been given an additional two years to serve as the head of the Macau tourism agency by the government.

The Macao Government Tourism Office, or MGTO, has chosen Ms. Senna Fernandes for an additional 24-month term as its director, according to a statement released on Wednesday in Macau’s Official Gazette. On December 20, she will take on her new role.

In December 2012, Ms. Senna Fernandes took the oath of office as the head of the tourism department for the first time, with a one-year term. Since then, she has been reappointed many times.

The Macau government has made it clear that one of its strategic objectives is to encourage its casino concessionaires to draw in more customers from markets outside than China. This project will be managed in tandem with MGTO’s marketing campaigns.

Macau was mostly a Chinese tourism destination before COVID-19, with 89.6% of the 39.4 million tourists in 2019 coming from mainland China and Hong Kong.

In July, Ms. Senna Fernandes said to GGRAsia that the six casino businesses in Macau had contributed to the increase in foreign visitor numbers.