On April 26, 2025, the second-year students of the Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management successfully organized the “Renewal · Coexistence: Cross-border Forum on the Revitalization of Old Districts in Macau”. The forum was co-organized by the Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management, the Centre for Tourism and Integrated Resorts Studies, and the District Development Promotion Association, with the support of the SJM Resorts. Through keynote speeches, panel discussions, postgraduate presentations, youth workshops and cross-generational dialogues, the Forum aims to stimulate young people’s interest in revitalization of old districts and encourage them to explore innovative strategies to attract tourists and promote economic growth, while at the same time delving deeper into the current status and challenges of revitalization of old districts.
At the opening ceremony, Prof. Amy Siu Ian SO, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, delivered a speech, while Prof. Zhuowei HUANG from the School of Tourism Management of Sun Yat-sen University and Mr. Chong Meng SIO, President of the District Development Promotion Association and Founder of Lek Hang Group, were the keynote speakers to share the successful cases of the Mainland China and their views on the revitalization of the old districts. In order to promote local academic research on revitalization of old districts, master students from the University of Macau were invited to present their research results on the revitalization of Rua de Cinco de Outubro and Rua dos Ervanários.
In the special session of cross-generational dialogues, three speakers came from different generations: the young speaker, Mr. Tam, the middle-aged speaker, the neighbors of Beco da Felicidade, and the elderly speaker, Mr. Ng. With a difference of 38 years, the dialogue spanned over 76 years, making their experiences and perspectives even more diverse, as they shared their experiences and feelings about life in old districts, as well as their views on the present and future of the community.
Another highlight of the forum was the panel discussions moderated by Prof. Amy Siu Ian SO. Ms. Porcia LEUNG, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, SJM Resorts, shared the company’s contribution to the revitalization of old districts, while Mr. Chong Meng SIO discussed the process of revitalizing the Hotel Central and his views on the revitalization of old districts, and Associate Prof. Siu Chi Sen from the Department of Finance and Business Economics, shared the strategies to attract tourists to the old districts and the suggestions of consumption from the viewpoint of economic analysis.
The forum attracted nearly 250 participants, including undergraduate, master and postgraduate students from the five Macau higher education institutions, community members, corporate executives and UM alumni, as well as secondary school students from the English Department of Sacred Heart Canossian College. In addition, in order to further promote the event, MGTO the head of Research and Planning Division, Mr. Fomen Leong, was invited to attend the event.
The forum was organized by more than 50 second-year students from the Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management, aiming to plant the seeds of revitalization of old districts, so that all of us can work together to spread this awareness. In addition, nearly 100 first-year students teamed up to produce more than 20 promotional videos about the old district of Rua de Cinco de Outubro and uploaded them to different social media, which have attracted more than 3,800 likes in just one week. Meanwhile, more than 30 postgraduate students also conducted in-depth studies on the revitalization of the old district, looking forward to contributing to the revitalization of the old district. The forum demonstrated the community’s enthusiasm and support for the revitalization of old districts, laying a good foundation for future revitalization work.
