Macao Travel News

9th MITE takes place in July to expand business opportunities, explore online, offline synergy

The 9th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE) will be held at Cotai Expo of The Venetian Macao from 9 to 11 July. The expo will once again bring together virtual and physical exhibitions with five major highlights to support members of the tourism and related industries to deepen cooperation and navigate business opportunities.

MITE is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, organised by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and coordinated by Macau Travel Agency Association.

At a press conference to announce the expo’s programme, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said the trade show once again featured a confluence of virtual and physical exhibitions to connect Macao’s travel trade and related sectors with their international counterparts.

Set to radiate Macao’s unique advantages, the expo continues to strengthen concerted development between tourism and the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE), e-commerce, gastronomy, culture and creativity among other fields, with the dedication to unveil new possibilities for exchange and cooperation among the travel and related sectors, in line with the Macao SAR Government’s endeavours to deepen cross-sector integration of “tourism +”.

Five major highlights

The physical expo will cover about 23,000 square metres, accommodating about 710 booths. Late in June, about 365 exhibitors had registered to participate, including 99 local exhibitors, 243 Mainland China exhibitors and 23 international exhibitors, along with 363 buyers including 205 hosted buyers from the Mainland and 158 online buyers from around the world.

The 2021 MITE major highlights are:

1. Stronger “Cloud Series”

The expo will optimise its pre-scheduled appointment system by extending the “Cloud B2B” period from 2 days to 14 days, offering ample time for exhibitors and buyers to tap into cooperation opportunities. Exhibitors and buyers who reach a consensus or confirm their intention to cooperate can sign agreements via “Cloud Contract-signing”.

The expo will virtually connect the global travel trade with the on-site exhibition via online introduction of destination tourism resources and live interaction with audience in the “Cloud Live Promotion” sessions, to be live streamed at the official website.

Exhibitors can also promote their products and brands through live sale on “Cloud Live Broadcast” with influential streamers from the Mainland and Macao on well-known e-commerce platforms.

2. Expanded “Macao Street” and economic boost

The number of exhibitors in “Macao Street” has increased by more than 10% compared with the previous edition. Exhibitors will promote and sell a variety of preferential tourism products including local tours and hotel staycation products under the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project as well as Macao Highlight Tours on site.

Macao’s hotel enterprises will debut a special mega pavilion to promote hotel products and services. Another pavilion will feature exhibitors which are tourism enterprises from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area that have joined pre-matching sessions with travel agencies in Macao for co-development of multi-destination travel products to attract buyers of “Macao +” Greater Bay Area travel products.

3. “City of Gastronomy” culinary demonstrations

The 9th MITE will invite famous chefs from Chengdu, Shunde, Macao and Yangzhou – all UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy – to demonstrate their culinary skills, share expertise and interact with spectators. The expo will feature the “Gastronomy Pavilion”, where local catering businesses will offer a variety of signature local delicacies, showcasing Macao’s status as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

4. Cultural tourism via “tourism + culture and creativity”

The zone of “Cultural and Creative Shops” will showcase products in creative design by exhibitors from Macao. The “MAK MAK Pavilion” will make its comeback, where local cultural and creative enterprises will promote and sell their tourism products made under the theme of Macao’s tourism mascot, helping deepen cross-sector integration of “tourism + culture and creativity”.

5. Promote “Distinctive Shops” 

The expo again presents the “Distinctive Shops” pavilion. Arranged by the Macao SAR Government Economic and Technological Development Bureau, about 20 “Distinctive Shops” such as eateries, confectionaries and bakeries, souvenir shops, retailers and handicraft businesses will offer visitors a window onto their products, services and stories of their inherited skills.

Smart tourism and more attractions

The 9th MITE will stage nearly 40 seminars and conferences, as well as more than 10 tourism-themed promotional activities. The trade show will also feature smart tourism exhibit booths which will let visitors experience and know more about smart tourism projects and services through on-site display. The smart tourism exhibit booths include Gaode Map, FlyZoo Hotel and Alibaba Cloud, all of which belong to Alibaba Group, covering applications for visitors before, during and after their trip experiences.

A launch ceremony for MGTO’s Official Flagship Store on Ctrip App and a workshop about e-commerce platform skills offered by Trip.com will be held on site on 9 July.

Pandemic prevention measures 

The expo will adopt a series of preventive measures against the pandemic, including implementation of crowd management and requirements for visitors to present Macao Health Code and have their temperature checked upon admission.

Venue disinfection, staggered admission hours and other measures related to public catering will be carried out as well.

The expo will offer the online appointment system to implement the requirement of “admission quota, advance appointment, staggered periods”. The public can now log into the official website at www.mitexpo.mo to schedule an appointment to visit the event. Pre-registered visitors will be given a “Checkpoint Map” and rewarded a souvenir upon completion of check-in at all specified spots in the exhibition halls.

During the expo, a free shuttle bus service along four routes will be provided between the venue and various points in Macao and Taipa. Free parking will be available to residents at Halls D and E at The Venetian Macao.

For more information about the 9th MITE, please visit the official website at www.mitexpo.mo, or check WeChat or the Facebook page.