Macao Moves Up ICCA Rankings
Macao ranked 21st in Asia in conferences and events organisation (Photo provided by Government Information Bureau)
According to the latest 2015 ICCA Statistics Report, 28 international meetings held in Macao were recognised by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), showing an increase of five events as compared to the total of 23 in 2014. As for ranking in Asia, Macao ranked 21st in 2015, one place up compared to 2014. Regarding worldwide ranking, Macao ranked 93rd in 2015, up eight places compared to 2014.
Macao's rankings have continually risen in Asia and around the world in the past two years. The rise in ranking in two consecutive years has put Macao on par with cities like Auckland in New Zealand, Brisbane in Australia and Bordeaux in France, suggesting Macao is a rising star in the conferences and events world. Additionally, with the gradual completion of large convention and exhibition facilities, the Macao exhibition industry has developed rapidly, attracting more international conferences to Macao.
The International Congress and Convention Association is the world's foremost conference organisation. Each year, ICCA prepares a report ranking the number of ICCA meetings held in each country/region/city. This authoritative report is widely recognised in the industry and is also an important reference for professional organisers in the selection of ideal conference location. Macao currently has a total of seven ICCA members from governmental departments, hotels, professional conference organisers and conference service providers.
The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute officially became an ICCA member in August 2012 and has actively participated in all ICCA activities, seizing the opportunity for dialogue with meeting managers, professional meeting organisers and related international meeting institutions. The ICCA online database, with over 17,000 international meeting data points, has also enabled IPIM to search for potential meetings and bid to hold them in Macao. This has attracted even more international meeting organisers to hold their activities in the city.
According to data from Macao's Statistics and Census Service, some 909 conferences were hosted by Macao in 2015, of which 540 (59.4 per cent) were corporate meetings, 173 (19 per cent) were conferences or organisation/association meetings, 57 (6.3 per cent) were major conference, and 78 (8.6 per cent) were exhibitions.