The annual number of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) held in Macao grew to 1,536 in 2019, or 109 events more than the year before, official data indicate.
Figures from the Macao SAR Government Statistics and Census Service show the annual number of meetings or conferences rose by 117 events to 1,459 events. The number of exhibitions eased by two events to 58, and the number of incentives fell by six events to 19.
The number of people taking part in Macao’s MICE events reached slightly more than 2 million last year, down by 5.4 percent compared to 2018.
There was a fall in attendance of meetings and conferences to 292,000 people, or a 1.4-percent decrease. The amount of floor space used by meetings or conferences shrank to approximately 1.19 million square metres last year or 29.8 percent less than the year before. Each meeting or conference lasted an average of 1.5 days, increasing the average duration of events by 0.1 day to 2018’s data.
The exhibitions hosted in Macao last year used more floor space but drew fewer people than the events held in 2018. Just less than 1.69 million people took part in exhibitions last year, down by 4.3 percent year-on-year. The floor space used by exhibitions increased by 6.4 percent to 370,000 square metres and each event lasted, on average, 3.4 days, the same as in 2018.
By adding another 109 events, Macao grows MICE sector in 2019
