Macau means business as it looks to host 1,000 events in 2023

The Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) is aiming to host up to 1,000 events in 2023, as it looks to boost the destination’s recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.

At a recent meeting involving IPIM and five MICE associations, IPIM’s acting president Vincent U set a goal to hold 700 to 1,000 MICE activities in 2023 and allow the sector to recover to at least 50% of its pre-pandemic performance.

He said that a number of conventions with more than a thousand attendees will be held in Macau, with one of them expected to attract over 10,000 attendees. This unnamed event has been previously successfully hosted in Macau and is set to return following this success.

IPIM said it will also collaborate with Macau’s MICE sector and different integrated resorts to bring a number of resources together, as well as different customer bases, in order to invite and bid for international and regional professional events to be held in Macau.

IPIM is also looking to attract a greater number of international MICE visitors, by introducing a new operation model dubbed ‘industry + MICE’, to develop key industries alongside the city’s signature MICE events. It also wants delegates to experience the destination post-event and is looking at ways to maximise the business and tourism experience, by focusing on entertainment activities and festivals, for example.

The initial target markets, according to IPIM, are Portuguese-speaking countries and Southeast Asian countries in the first quarter of this year. To this end, IPIM will participate at The Global CEO Summit, an event organised by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), which is taking place in Lisbon, Portugal at the end of January.

IPIM also plans to take part in UFI’s Asia-Pacific Conference 2023, taking place in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of March. The MICE associations involved in the meeting included Macao Convention & Exhibition Association, Macau Fair & Trade Association, The Association of Advertising Agents of Macau, Macau Federal Commercial Association of Convention & Exhibition Industry and Macau Association of Convention, Exhibition & Tourism Sectors.