MACAO, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) will cherish the new title as a Creative City of Gastronomy designated by UNESCO and make good use of it to help transform Macao into a world center of tourism and leisure, the SAR's cultural chief official said on Wednesday.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR government Tam Chon Weng said in a comment after UNESCO announced the designation that he is extremely happy and strongly confident that becoming a member of the network will open new horizons for Macao in the development of diversity, uniqueness and sustainability.
UNESCO has picked Macao as a City of Gastronomy to join its Creative Cities Network, the organization said on early Wednesday.
"Gastronomy has all along been a distinctive element of our culture of over 400 years of east-meets-west exchanges and we will devote our utmost efforts to bring our unique elements to contribute to the enrichment of the network," Tam said.
The SAR government will launch a series of activities to raise the awareness about the designation. A number of initiatives will also be rolled out, including enhancing vocational training, organizing international gastronomy forum as an annual event, and participating in international exchange events organized by UNESCO Creative Cities.
