The “Macau Incentive Product Assessment Forum”, which was organised by the Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC) of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) from 25th – 28th January, concluded successfully in Macau yesterday. The Forum invited 18 leading industry experts flying in from Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea and the United States, who are CEOs and Senior Management of leading incentive houses, Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and event companies that operate in Asia, to participate in a series of incentive designed programs and presentations. The Forum is one of many projects being undertaken by the MBTC to help develop Macau’s MICE product offering. The objective of the “Macau Incentive Product Assessment Forum” is to obtain an assessment of Macau’s incentive product from the leading industry experts to help facilitate future product development. The program consisted of three components providing participants with a first hand experience of Macau’s key incentive venues, products and services as well as the opportunity to brief the local industry on specific market needs and requirements. Participants were also asked to provide their assessment and views on how Macau could develop its incentive product further. Around 90 companies of the MBTC’s Industry Partners Program attended the presentation and panel discussion on the third day (27th January) of the Forum program. Ms. Isabel Augusto, Head of Business Tourism of MGTO, in her opening remarks said that, “Macau is a relatively new player in the MICE market. We have built some of the world’s finest hotels, resorts and infrastructure and we also must provide the best in service, standards and product delivery. We greatly value your ideas, expertise and experience to help us achieve this.” “The purpose of this Forum is to help Macau evaluate and develop its incentive product so that you and your clients may confidentially choose Macau as incentive destination. It will also provide a range of opportunities for our overseas guests and the Macau MICE industry to interact and learn from each other so that there is a mutual understanding of needs and expectations.” The Forum was fruitful, especially for the presentation and panel discussion sessions, in which the overseas participants and local industry partners had a great time in exchanging their views on Macau’s incentive products and future developments. Although most of the speakers pointed out that Macau still had room for improvement in terms of accessibility, flexibility and new product development, they unanimously admitted that Macau is pursuing in the right direction and will be a keen competitor in Asia as an ideal MICE destination.
