The 14th World Route Development Forum took place from October 12 to October 14, 2008, in the Convention Centre in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, claimed to be the biggest of its kind ever held, attracting more than 2,500 delegates including airlines, airports, slot coordinators, plus this year with more active participation from tourism authorities and travel agents.

A Macau delegation composed of representatives from Macau International Airport Company Limited (CAM) and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) jointly participated in the above mentioned event. Among them, Ms. Suning Liu (Executive Director) and Mr. Antonio Rato (Senior Assistant to the Chairman and Director of Marketing) of CAM were also invited to participate in the 2nd Annual Routes Leaders Forum on October 13, 2008.

With the strong support given by MGTO and its representatives in Malaysia, a promotional booth was jointly set up by CAM and MGTO at the Networking Village of the event venue where the Forum participants had access to Macau International Airport's latest services and facilities. It also provided a good opportunity for them to reveal the charm of Macau and to experience all the exciting activities happening in Macau.

The World Route Development Forum provides chances for the participants to explore business opportunities and also exchange their experiences. While the last months were commonly considered to all as the worst in aviation history, the event was set against a mixed background with discussion on world financial crisis and hopes that a rapidly dropping oil price will bring relief to the airline industry.

This year's Forum also had the highest number of pre-arranged meetings between airports and over 200 airlines, enabling airports to meet with potential airline network planners on a single location and event, exploring the potential to air services in the destination. Macau International Airport continued its utmost effort to market the exciting development of the destination with the support of Macau Government Tourist Office joining efforts to make it a further success. During the event CAM representatives had formal meetings with more than 12 airlines and ad-hoc meetings and talks with a lot more.

With the overall downturn of economy, airlines have been watching carefully in developing the most profitable routes for business and Macau International Airport has been targeting in meetings with airlines in the region for short and medium long haul routes, aiming to diversify the type of carriers and connections aside from our well served markets like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Philippines, Taiwan, etc. Outbound markets like Japan, South Korea and India as well as the Middle East are expected to be the next biggest drivers of traffic to Macau, therefore, the meeting targets were mainly carriers from these regions.

During the proceedings of the World Route Development Forum, the representatives from CAM held meetings with both airlines and airports. In addition, a promotional booth was also jointly set up by CAM and MGTO at the Networking Village. Macau's high development of tourism has become an international focal point drawing attention to the potential of Macau as a fast growing inbound market and this can lead to further development of new routes for Macau too.

The airline delegates were briefed about the destination's development and were amazed at the quick change and the different projects going on at the place. Only a few had Macau in their plans, but some more shown after the meetings their interest to consider Macau when planning for route expansion. The event was concluded with success by delegates and with hopes for fruitful outcome from these intensive meetings and networking.

Signs of higher perception of Macau as a destination were that some airlines and airports approached Macau stand and representatives wishing to take initiatives to work closer for better connections because of its potential for its uniqueness of travel product - a best mix of traditional culture and state-of-the-art entertainment and facilities.

Prior to joining the 14th World Routes Development Forum, Ms. Liu Suning, Executive Director of CAM as a newly appointed Board Director of the ACI Asia Pacific Region, participated in the ACI Asia Pacific Board Meeting where the Region's Business Plan was reviewed and issues pertaining to the development of the aviation industry and airport management in particular were discussed. Training and Development of human recourses, sharing of best practices and industry policy were on top of the agenda.

CAM delegates attended the 14th World Route Development Forum 2008 in Malaysia include Ms. Suning Liu - Executive Director, Mr. Antonio Rato - Senior Assistant to the Chairman and Director of Marketing, Mr. Joao Antunes - Assistant to Executive Director, Ms. Elizabeth Cheong and Ms. Patricia Au - Managers of Marketing Department.

Photo taken at the booth from left to right: Ms. Margaret Lee - Marketing Executive of Macau Government Tourist Office Representative in Malaysia, Mr. Antonio Rato - Senior Assistant to the Chairman and Director of Marketing of CAM, Ms. Ping Ho - Marketing Manager of Macau Government Tourist Office Representative in Malaysia, Ms. Suning Liu - Executive Director of CAM, Ms. Patricia Au and Ms. Elizabeth Cheong - Managers of Marketing Department of CAM, and Mr. Joao Antunes - Assistant to Executive Director of CAM.

(Information contributed by Macau International Airport)