Macau eyes bigger share of convention market

MANILA, Philippines - With sizeable convention and exhibition facilities offered by the Venetian Macao, the newly opened Grand Hyatt Macau, the Macau Tower, and the Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau is now recognized as an important destination for the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market.

With these facilities, Macau “can take its place as one of the best equipped and most modern MICE destinations in the world,” said Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, deputy director of the Macau Government Tourism Office.

Coupled with entertainment, excellent hotel, dining and shopping choices as well as a rich heritage, Macau’s convention facilities, most of which are found within integrated resorts, make the destination very appealing to event participants, who can now look forward to combining business with pleasure.

Of the 730 MICE events held during the first half of 2009, 694 (95 percent) were meetings and conferences and 36 (five percent) were exhibitions.

According to government statistics, a total of 211,287 participants attended these events.

In line with its character as a historic urban area, Macau hosted the second UNESCO-ICCROM Asian Academy for Heritage Management Conference last Dec. 1-3 and the third International Conference on Destination Branding and Marketing on Dec. 2-4. Both events took place at the Institute for Tourism Studies.

The seventh International Conference on Information Communications and Signal Processing, which ran on Dec. 8-10, covered major areas of information, communications, and computer and signal processing.

The First Macau International Film Festival and International Film, TV, Animation Trade Fair will run for eight days, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 2, 2010.

The event will bring together international film, television and animation producers, investors, directors, actors, and business groups to promote the local film and TV industry and to showcase film, animation, and TV productions from Asia and the rest of the world.

More information on Macau’s new MICE facilities and upcoming events are available at www.macautourism.gov.mo.