A total of 493 MICE events were held in Macau in the first half of 2023, representing a 160% year-on-year increase in events. There was also a 50.8% rise in attendees to 710,000, however, private MICE event organizers suffered a combined loss of MOP$10.65 million (US$1.3 million), excluding government/institutional subsidies, according to information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).
The number of MICE events accelerated in the June quarter, rising by 171 events or 190% to 263 events in total. The number of attendees rose by 66.4% to 509,000.
The 2Q23 tally included 245 meetings, up by of 300% and with 45,000 attendees, lasting on average 1.1 days. There were also 14 exhibitions, with attendance rising by 56.6% to 461,000 visitors and an average duration of 3.4 days. The total area utilized by these exhibitions increased by 200% to 78,000 square meters. DSEC said the remaining four events were incentive events, with a total of 2,632 participants, an average duration of 1.8 days and a total of floor space utilized of 6,499 square meters.
The revenue and expenditure of exhibition organizers in Q2 were MOP$48.7 million (US$6.0 million) and MOP$65.87 million (US$8.2 million) respectively, representing increases of 600% and 920% over the same quarter of 2022. However, the 13 non-government exhibitions generated MOP$48.7 million (US$6.0 million) in revenue but MOP$56.15 million (US$6.9 million) in expenditure, resulting in a loss of MOP$11.95 million (US$1.5 million) excluding government/institutional subsidies.
Likewise, for the first six months of 2023 combined, the 23 non-government organized exhibitions generated income and expenditure of MOP$57.5 million (US$7.1 million) and MOP$62.64 million (US$7.8 million) respectively, resulting in a loss of MOP$5.14 million (US$636,000), or MOP10.65 million (US$1.3 million) excluding government/institutional subsidies.
