China National Tourism Administration launches study tour for Macanese teenagers

Going on an overseas study tour in mainland China is getting increasingly popular in Macao since 30 city buses were used to advertise the tour with the theme of "China in Macanese People's Heart" on Apr 1. Closed-circuit TV advertisements featuring the Silk Road Tourism were also used in 120 city buses.

The overseas study tour project has been launched by the China National Tourism Administration, to ensure better understanding of rich Chinese culture and history by teenagers from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. 10,000 teenagers will be selected to join the study tour.

As Macao is an important tourism location for mainland China, the China National Tourism Administration has launched six tour packages for the Macanese travelers to visit Guangdong, Henan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian and Shaanxi provinces.

So far, several touristic packages have proved to be popular among the Macanese,？such as "Chinese Culture Tour", "Guangdong Tour", and "China in Macanese People's Heart". The entire project has been organized thanks to joint efforts by more than 10 cities in mainland China as well as China Civic Education Promotion Association of Hong Kong, and China Travel Service (Macao) Ltd.

To sustain the sound development of the Macanese-oriented tourism market, the China National Tourism Administration is also planning to hold a series of events to promote the Silk Road Tourism Year in Macao in April.

Silk Road Tourism Project, officially created by the United Nations World Tourism Organization in 1993, encouraged 29 countries along the road to take part in it. China is the starting point in the Silk Road. The Silk Road was the first channel by which Chinese culture was spread to other parts of the world, and is aimed at promoting mutual exchanges between eastern and western civilizations.

Macao is a small city located on the southeast coast of China. 80 percent of the Macanese use public transportation, with average passenger number reaching 400,000 per day. The largest two bus companies in the city are the Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos de Macau SARL (TCM) and the New Era Public Bus Company Ltd.