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Maritime Museum tour provides IFTM students with hands-on experience of visitor management practices

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

A group of IFTM students went to the Maritime Museum on 23 April to learn more about visitor management practices at tourism sites. The activity was organised under the Visitor Management course, led by IFTM Lecturer Dr. Soey Lei Sut Ieng.

The purpose of the site visit was to provide students with a hands-on experience of such visitor management practices in a real-world setting. Topics covered during the activity included museum interpretation, crowd management strategies, management of visitor expectations, and the issue of visitor satisfaction.

The visit included a tour of the exhibition rooms, conducted by 2 representatives of the Maritime Museum. In addition to presenting to the students the history of naval activity in and around Macao and the city’s maritime traditions, the representatives demonstrated how vivid storytelling techniques could be used during a museum tour to capture the audience’s attention and encourage interaction.

During the site visit, the participants discussed the importance of the interactive displays and multimedia features available at the museum. These were presented as ways of using technology to promote visitor engagement and widen the appeal of the content on display.

The IFTM students also reviewed with the museum representatives the crowd management practices used at the facility. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maritime Museum has implemented countermeasures to prevent the spread of the disease, including separating visitors into small groups for tours. That was an example of visitor flow management during a public health crisis, it was explained.

The museum tour ended with an exchange session with the museum representatives. Students were encouraged to ask questions related to museum management, including strategies to understand and improve visitor experience. The undergraduates also shared their thoughts and comments on different aspects of the museum.

In addition to deepening the students’ understanding of Macao’s cultural heritage and traditions, the site visit helped participants to collect useful information for their work projects as part of the Visitor Management course.

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