Collaboration between practitioners and public agencies in preserving and promoting musical heritage in Macao

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to explore the nature of collaborative relationship between the local government and performers of Cantonese opera in Macao by using in-depth interviews and field trips. Based on the results, a framework has been developed to demonstrate how the local government and performers joint forces to preserve and promote Cantonese opera through tourism. The framework also suggested an approach to balance the power relationship between key players by revealing how the local government and performers interchanged their roles in different areas of the project. The study empirically confirmed the importance of sharing common goals and having sufficient communication and coordination between key players for effective collaboration.

KEYWORDS:

• Cantonese opera
• stakeholders
• collaboration
• government
• performers
• cultural tourism
• intangible heritage
• music
• Macao

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Io is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Tourism Studies in Macao. Her research interests include tourist experience and emotions in cultural and heritage tourism as well as casino resorts.