Macao, a rising MICE powerhouse in the Greater Bay Area. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/Philip
Macao’s new offerings
The city’s MICE landscape is growing with several notable additions:
- Londoner Arena: A 6,000-seat venue with a non-permanent stage allowing for flexible event formats
- Galaxy International Convention Center: An event venue featuring 40,000 sqm of flexible meeting space, including a 10,000sqm pillar-less exhibition hall and 16,000-seat Galaxy Arena
- Studio City Cinema: The movie destination features the first Dolby Cinema in Macao and Hong Kong offers nine houses and a total capacity of 770 seats
Macao has emerged as one of Asia’s fastest-recovering tourist destinations in the post-pandemic era, with over 16 million visitor arrivals recorded by June 2024 – a 43.6% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
The city’s MICE sector is seeing robust growth, too, with the Macao Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) reporting 307 MICE events in Q1 2024, up 31.2% from the previous year.
This resurgence is driven by the efforts of the newly rebranded Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) – a result of merging the former Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute with the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries (Macao) – which continues to position Macao as a premier MICE destination.
Both the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and IPIM are committed to promoting Macao-Hengqin as a MICE destination in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and internationally. After a series of roadshows in the first half of 2024, the MGTO and IPIM will launch visits to nine GBA cities and Portuguese-speaking countries in the second half of the year to highlight Macao’s MICE versatility.
”The advantage of Macao is the big venues, so you don’t have to worry about the logistics for your large group… It’s easy to manage.”
Bruno Simões, SmallWORLD executive director and managing director at DOC DMC
Rooms and facilities keep growing
Following a flurry of new hotel openings, Macao’s rooms and venues continue to broaden.
Sands Resorts Macao is a frontrunner in the expansion, debuting the state-of-the-art, 6,000-seat The Londoner Arena in 2023, with a versatile, non-permanent stage that allows an expansion and diversification for Sands.
Kris Kaminsky, senior vice president of hotel operations, Sands China, said: “Sands Lifestyle #ReDiscover Macao 2023 was the first post-pandemic mega MICE familiarisation trip that Sands Resorts Macao organised. The carefully curated itinerary gave attendees an immersive experience of all that makes Macao a world-class MICE destination and showcased our ongoing support of the Macao Government Tourism Office’s ‘tourism + MICE’ initiative. We also showcased our comprehensive MICE capabilities to our business partners from all around the world.”
Kris Kaminsky, senior vice president of hotel operations at Sands China.Meanwhile, Galaxy unveiled its all-non-gaming Phase 3 late last year, featuring the 14,000sqm Galaxy International Convention Center (GICC) and the 16,000-seat Galaxy Arena next door. Phase 4 will include a 93-room Capella in 2025, the group’s first in APAC, a water resort deck, and a 4,000-seat performing arts theatre.
Elsewhere in Macao, Studio City opened its new cinema, comprising nine houses with a total capacity of 770 seats, including luxury VIP houses with private catering and a MX4D 4D sensory cinema featuring cutting-edge sound and screening technologies.
These new venues and attractions have enhanced the “bleisure” options on Macao. “The cineplex serves as an attractive venue for film premieres, industry screenings, and cultural events associated with conferences and exhibitions,” said a Studio City spokesperson. “This can potentially lure MICE participants who seek unique venues and entertainment options.”
The USANA sales convention brought 11,000 attendees to the Galaxy International Convention Center.Evergreen drawcards
Although visitor numbers are on the rebound, Bruno Simões, SmallWORLD executive director and managing director at DOC DMC still sees room for further recovery for Macao’s MICE industry. “In our opinion the business is still far from what it was in 2019; it’s still down 30% to 40% from what it was.”
However, Macao also presents evergreen strengths. “Macao’s advantage is the big venues, so planners don’t have to worry about the logistics for large groups or split hundreds of people between two hotels. It’s easy to manage.”
A long-time resident of Macao, Simões is leveraging his deep destination knowledge and connections to spotlight Macao's rich culinary heritage for value-add events that “craft immersive experiences that go beyond traditional dining”. Among those are a food safari, a gourmet discovery and an original wine & dine with Macanese food and Portuguese wines.
These offerings are also an answer to the post-pandemic emphasis on social and community responsibility, as corporate clients demand more authentic, off-the-beaten-path experiences tailored to smaller groups.
W Macau opens its doors in Studio City.Buddy Lam Chi Seng, director of corporate affairs for Galaxy Entertainment Group, is sanguine about the “multi-venue event” model that has been espoused by IPIM in promoting Macao alongside the neighbouring city of Hengqin, seeing the potential that the latter can offer through its diversity of hotel options and lower pricing.
“The new policies that allow easier MICE travel between Hengqin and Macao are going to be a great benefit. We get comments from partners talking about expensive, five-star Macao hotels, and as an event organiser we get requests from partners asking about four-star hotels and better pricing. I think Hengqin will help with that.”
Furthermore, awareness of the Greater Bay Area, including Hengqin, has been on the rise among international travellers and MICE organisers. “We’re seeing more of GBA-wide events, [which in turn] encourage satellite events and value-add trips into Macao.”
Underpinning Macao as a viable MICE destination is its increasingly accessibility, observed Lam. “I would like to see more direct flights. We should put more effort into promoting how accessible Macao really is now.”