MACAO -- The University of Macau (UM) hosted a smart tourism symposium on Friday, bringing together scholars and senior executives from the tourism and hospitality industry.

At the Smart Tourism Symposium 2026: Innovation and Impact, participants discussed technological innovation, industrial transformation and upgrading, and industry-academia collaboration in tourism, and offered insights to support Macao's development as a world center of tourism and leisure, according to the university.

Speaking at the event, UM Vice-Rector Ge Wei expressed hope that cross-sectoral exchange at the symposium would inject new vitality into the innovation and development of smart tourism in Macao and support the sustainable upgrading of the city's tourism industry.

Rob Law, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Economics and Management at UM, pointed out that backed by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and connected to the motherland and the world, Macao holds advantages in tourism development.