Many of large conventions that involved thousands of delegates were successfully held last year, creating opportunities for different industries
Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) centralised the planning of all activities related to the Convention and Exhibition (also known as MICE) sector since 2016, IPIM had been collaborating with the administration of the Macao SAR Government and promoting the MICE industry by prioritising conventions through various means. In 2017, IPIM successfully encouraged plenty of MICE delegates to visit different communities to explore Macao. The organisers of large conventions were pleased with the professional arrangements while many of the delegates enjoyed themselves in the diverse range of events and shared their unforgettable experiences on social media. In the meantime, these large conventions stimulated the performance of local enterprises, which led to remarkable growth in their businesses. Macao won hands down with the perfect solution to benefit large sectors of the community.
Last year, many large conventions were held in Macao, involving the medical, cosmetic and healthcare industries, as well as great numbers of MICE delegates from all parts of the world. Some event organisers planned to hold even bigger conventions in Macao at a later date as they found most of the event arrangements to be satisfactory and considered Macao to be a well-rounded destination for any type of MICE activity, especially for the larger conventions, thanks to Macao’s well-developed hotels and shopping centres as well as its unique tourism resources. According to some of the organisers, with the help of local conference organizing companies and travel agencies, they arranged for thousands of MICE delegates per day to visit different parts of the community to experience the local culture and try out Macao’s cuisine. In addition to going shopping and tasting food, organisers took the opportunity to visit different scenic spots and cultural heritage sites, indulge themselves in the festive atmosphere and even share their special experiences on social platforms.
MICE Groups Add Impetus to Community Economies during Low Season
Exploring the local community did not only enable MICE delegates to enrich their experience, it also diversified the market of local enterprises. According to Ms. Iao, manager of a Chinese restaurant in the North district, the majority of customers were normally from the local neighbourhood, but they were receiving 600 customers from the MICE sector per day in mid of December alone, which greatly improved their business. Based on the opinion of Mr. Wu, deputy manager of a local restaurant in Zape whose business mainly relies on the local market, the financial pressure during the low season from March to September could be relieved to a certain extent by the new customers ever since the MICE sector joined their customer base last year.
Mr. Ieong, executive chef of a 50-year-old Portuguese restaurant in Nam Van district, said that he had witnessed the many developments of his restaurant and Macao’s catering industry over the years. He added that, in recent years, the restaurant has attracted many customers from MICE events who have more to spend, which boosted the revenue of the restaurant and Macao’s reputation as a Creative City of Gastronomy. According to Mr. Fan, manager of a Portuguese restaurant in Taipa Village, as Macao will be holding more and more MICE activities, they would be paying close attention to the latest developments in the MICE sector and are planning to expand their co-operation with local travel agencies in order to expand their customer base.
Apart from the catering industry, different industries including retail and transportation have benefited from the huge increase in tourist numbers that large conventions had brought about, which has given a huge boost to Macao’s economic diversification.
In 2018, many MICE event organising teams have already arrived Macao to arrange activities, including the annual conference of a large medical and healthcare company held at the beginning of January, which attracted tens thousands of delegates to Macao for the event and sightseeing. The 2018 Cheetah Mobile Global Annual Conference with 2,000 delegates and the 4th World Cashew Convention with 400 delegates have also been successfully held in Macao.
