The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) said Friday that Macau is scheduled to host 40 MICE events from September to December this year, which are expected to attract a combined 400,000 participants.
In the first six months of 2023 there were more than 490 MICE events, already exceeding last year’s total of 477, with more than 700,000 attendees, a year-on-year increase of about 50% over the same time period. More than 1,000 events are expected to be held throughout the year, including the recent 10th World Economic Forum on Tourism, held only last week. The event attracted more than 14,000 on-site attendees and over 2.3 million online participants from 95 countries across six continents, including Asia, Europe, South America, North America, Africa and Oceania.
According to IPIM data, the 40 events still to come carry themes ranging from finance and health to technology, tourism and sports – reflecting the rapid recovery of the sector since Macau’s borders were reopened on 8 January.
Macau’s MICE industry has been recovering since the reopening of the border on 8 January. The 10th World Economic Forum on Tourism (WEFTEC), one of the most recent large-scale MICE events, was successfully held last week.
Speaking with media, MGM China Chairperson and Executive Director Pansy Ho, who is also Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the World Economic Forum on Tourism, observed that tourists from mainland China represent the main source of visitors to Macau and that this demographic is getting younger, so Macau’s tourism industry needs to be innovative.
“Macau has been building a new direction of development in the past two to three years, and the six integrated tourism and leisure enterprises are implementing and planning their investment programs for next year, which promote new changes and enhance the business of Macau,” she said.
