Vivienne Tam, prominent fashion designer and Mandarin Oriental ‘fan’, joined João Manuel Costa Antunes, Director of Macau’s Government Tourist Office and senior executives from Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Hongkong Land and Shun Tak Holdings today at a colourful ceremony and ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the stunning new 213-room Mandarin Oriental, Macau.

ITB World Travel Trends Report 2010 of individual countries reflect economic recovery following the crisis

China’s exports have already acquired for it the title of the new world champion. In addition the current year, 2010, will see the Chinese capturing a another new record: according to the latest predictions from ITB Berlin. Following the economic recession, China’s population will again be displaying a disproportionately keen interest in travel, with many travel plans actually being made during the current year.

International tourist arrivals grew by 7% in the first four months of 2010 according to the latest issue of the UNWTO World TourismBarometer. This growth confirms the recovery trend beginning in the last quarter of 2009 and comes despite the challenging conditions of recent months. While April’s results were affected by the week-long closure of European airspace, globally the pace of recovery is faster than initially expected, driven largely by emerging markets. For the full year 2010, UNWTO forecasts international tourist arrivals to grow by 3% to 4%.