The co-chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings Ltd. can put another feather in her cap. Pansy Ho Chiu King has been appointed by the United Nation’s World Tourism 
Organization (UNWTO) as a Tourism Ambassador. According to a press release from this past Tuesday, Ho was bestowed the title for her “contributions in promoting regional and global tourism cooperation and sustainable tourism.”
Ho oversees the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre, which was created in 2011. She is also a founding member of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF), an event that has been held in Macau annually since 2012.
The long-time executive is also an investor in MGM Resorts International, the U.S.-based parent company of MGM China Holdings. Additionally, she is the chair and CEO of Hong Kong-based conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., a company that specializes in shipping, hospitality services and property development. A subsidiary of Shun Tak, Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management Ltd., operates TurboJET, which offers high-speed ferries to Macau.
Ho’s résumé doesn’t end there. She is a member of several tourism organizations, including the World Travel and Tourism Council, where she holds the position of executive committee member, and the China Chamber of Tourism, where she serves as the group’s vice chairman. Ho was also the first-ever official ambassador to the Pacific Asia Travel Association Foundation.
She said of her new appointment, “The ambassador honour is indeed a recognition and affirmation of the efforts of the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre and GTEF to facilitate global tourism cooperation.”
The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili, announced the appointment during the opening ceremony of this year’s Global Tourism Economy Forum. He stated, “We decided to have the first Ambassador of UNWTO in Macau. It will be a fantastic lady, who is from Macau. She will be our first Ambassador in the region…Today is an historic day for the region and for Macau and Guangdong province. I’m very proud, very glad and honored to participate from the opening and celebration of the ‘Greater Bay Area’ region with the connection between Macau, Hong Kong and nine cities in mainland China. This is a great project, unique in the world and I’m sure that this is another huge opportunity to attract more and more tourists in the region.”
