Macau is turning its attention to MICE arrivals after seeing a
decline in gaming visitation; Grand Hyatt Macau pictured

Stakeholders report growth in MICE business despite weaker attendance according to official data. Still, more programmes are being created to keep the Chinese interested. By Prudence Lui

With the global uncertainty and China’s economic slowdown, business events from China into Macau was negatively affected in 2015.

Based on Macau’s Statistics and Census Service, the total number of conference participants fell by 10 per cent to 88,189. This is despite the 125 per cent year-on-year growth in meetings and conference to 831 last year. Meanwhile, the number of exhibitions also decreased by nine year-on-year to 78 (where 74 were organised by non-government organisations), and the number of attendees dropped by 3.8 per cent to 2,393,461.

But with the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) stepping up officially to promote MICE in the Chinese destination on January 1 this year, things might just improve.

An IPIM spokesman told TTGmice that China is “always one of the key MICE markets for Macau”.

Besides courting planners from China through a stronger presence at related tradeshows like IT&CM China (Shanghai) and CIBTM (Beijing), IPIM is also pursuing the international MICE market.

“While there was a minor fall in visitor arrivals in 2015, MICE business is expected to continue its growth as new capacity comes online and the industry turns its attention towards this sector to fill the drop in gaming visitations,” said the spokesman.

The spokesman added that IPIM is “embarking on new programmes to support industry growth and incentivise new business to come to Macau”.

He elaborated: “We have a growing reputation as Asia’s mega events city and we will be hosting a number of large-scale MICE events such as the China Expo Forum for International Cooperation 2017, a 7,000-pax Herbalife China Extraordinary Meeting, and a 10,000-pax Jeunesse Global Greater China Meeting.”

Local MICE stakeholders are doing their best to pull in traffic too.

Sands China, vice president of destination marketing and sales, Ruth Boston, saw a positive overall increase in MICE business in 2015. She attributed this to Sands Resorts Cotai Strip Macao’s MICE promotion Meet for Free in Macao, which ran from July to December last year.

She said: “It helped us obtain more new business from MICE groups from China. Room nights increased by over 40 per cent from the market in 2015, as compared to 2014.”

“We expect a healthy and steady growth this year because we have successfully diversified our MICE business in key industries and focused on building strong partnerships with key players throughout the region. China is a key source market for us and we are investing significant funds in our marketing and sales efforts to grow business from mainland China,” Boston said.

Looking ahead, Boston feels that there are many opportunities to be tapped in China’s second tier cities such as Chengdu, Xiamen, Ningbo and Hangzhou. In 2016, the group will be conducting roadshows in some of these cities to showcase their MICE offerings.

“While the economy plays an important role in how it affects travel out of the mainland, people still want to discover new destinations and Macau is well positioned to cater for all market, from families to (business events).”

Grand Hyatt Macau also expects continued growth in business from China in 2016, bolstered by the efforts of the tourism and hospitality industry as well as the Macau government.

General manager Paul Kwok said: “We will continue to focus sales and marketing efforts on increasing business from China, especially from the MICE segment, through hosting fam programmes and appreciation events, as well as leveraging on our group’s sales network. “

From an incentive perspective, Macao Government Tourism Office received a total of 58 incentive groups comprising a total of 36,725 participants last year through the Incentive Travel Stimulation Program. The majority of the incentive groups were from mainland China with a total of 14,466 participants.

One of the largest Chinese group to make landfall in Macau last year was the 9,000-pax Joymain Annual Conference.

Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said: “The majority of Chinese incentive groups were from the fields of medical technology, pharmaceutical services. In order to continuously promote tourism development, we launched a new edition of the Travel Stimulation Program on July 1, 2015.”

Air Cruise’s director, Eric Chang described 2015 as a quiet year for Chinese MICE with only a slight decrease thanks to the government’s support.

He remarked: “The government has been helping the industry directly and indirectly. For instance, it hosted more government events last year, with invitations extended to scholars and experts from the mainland.

“I am not optimistic about this year but the drop (in MICE business) will be limited to a single digit. The only opportunity I see in this situation is that the demand for business event manpower would not be as high as before so clients can expect better service quality.”

{Taking Numbers}

{Insider}
Domingos Savio Cheng, managing director, Macao Professional Conference and Exhibition Organizer

Domingos Savio Chang, managing director, Macao Professional Conference and Exhibition Organizer

Discover Macau’s fresh offerings

Pay a visit to the city’s latest attractions like Macau Studio City and revamped Macau Fisherman’s Wharf’s Legend Boulevard. The soon-to-open Parisian Macao’s iconic half-scale replica Eiffel Tower started lighting up at night recently.

Hold a swanky event

You would be spoiled for choice of event venues in Macau. The Galaxy Macao affords the option to host a gala dinner or party at the man-made beach. And at the Venetian. Planners can choose the Venetian Macao for a poolside party or a themed gala dinner.

Dip into the melting pot of international cuisines

Your Macau experience won’t be complete if you haven’t tried authentic Portuguese cuisine. Rua Do Cunha in Taipa is a great place to begin your culinary adventure with two Portuguese outlets there that hold Michelin stars. Alternatively, pamper yourself with international cuisine at fine dining restaurants in renowned luxury hotels or excite your taste buds with local dishes, such as wonton noodles along Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro or hotpot restaurants in Zona de Aterros do Porto Exterior district.