The “5th GSMA Wholesale Agreement & Solutions Working Group” (hereinafter “WAS#5”) was hosted in the Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central from 27 to 30 March. This event attracted more than 1000 attendees representing telecommunication operators from around 70 countries and regions. Terrence Leung, the organizer of WAS#5, stated that this is the second time WAS#5 was held in Asia, with Macao being this edition’s chosen city. He indicated that the strength of Macao’s exhibition industry had increased substantially, and the support from a number of policies and the “One-stop” conference package make Macao a more attractive destination than other Asian regions.
WAS#5 is a conference hosted twice a year by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (hereinafter GSMA). It supports the development of roaming and interconnecting agreement templates and wholesale charging principles. GSMA is an association founded by mobile communication operators and corperations related to the mobile industry around the globe. It is an authoritative organization which provides governments in different places with advice on areas ranging from tax policies to price-setting strategies.
WAS comes to Macao again after a decade
Terrence Leung, the organzier of WAS#5 stated that this is the second time WAS#5 was held in Asia. Macao was also the chosen destination for GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in 2007. He indicated that Macao plays an important role as it connects mainland China to different countries in the globe. Coupling with a simple visa policy, world class facilities and infrastructure, and rich Chinese and Western cultural heritage, these advantages make Macao one of the most ideal hosting places for MICE events in Asia. In particular, benefiting from Macao’s visa policy, a number of companies from mainland China was able to send delegation parties to Macao to participate in the conference, whereas in the past each company could only obtain visa for one representative, hence the number of participants increased in this edition. The conference attracted more than 1000 representatives of more than 200 enterprises from around 70 countries. Representatives of many leading enterprises among telecommunication operators, mobile phone manufacturers, telecommunication equipment suppliers, telecommunication service providers and other related fields attended the conference, demonstrating their recent technology and products, outlining the blueprint for the future development of the mobile telecommunication industry.
Macao’ s “One-stop” conference package is better than the ones in many Asian regions
Terrence Leung pointed out that Macao has made substantial progress in terms of government support, hotel facilities, and other infrastructures, compared to the situation a decade ago. The Cotai district in Macao features convenient transportation, numerous restaurants and shops, and a good variety of recreations, making it particularly suitable for the hosting of international conferences. He also praised staff members working in the services industry for their friendly attitude and professionalism. In addition, the restaruants in and around the hotel also provide cuisines from Southeast Asia, Europe, and America, catering for people from various regions in the globe who may have different dietary preferences.
He claimed that as for the organizing of the event, the “One-stop Service” for MICE Bidding and Support provided by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute was utilized. Support includes the appointment of a dedicated professional to provide assistance and in coordinating and communicating with related governmental departments. Benefiting from those arrangements, event organizers are more confident in Macao’s capacity for hosting large-scale conferences.
In the coming few months, more convention and exhibition events will be hosted in Macao.Professionals in the medical field from 30 countries and regions will be invited to the “2017 Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Dental Association” annual conference. In addition, there will also be the “Global Gaming Expo Asia 2017 (G2E Asia 2017), which is an industrial event related to the “One-stop” gaming and recreational products procurement platforms provided by Asian integrated leisure enterprises, and the 9th International Conference on Partial Least Squares and Related Methods”, which aims to promote the exchange among the international professionals and scholars in the field of statistics. For further details, please visit the Macao MICE Portal: http://www.mice.gov.mo/tc/.