In the first half of 2025, Macau hosted a total of 918 MICE events – an increase of 208 events compared to the same period last year and representing a growth rate of 29.3%. However, the number of attendees decreased by 11.2% to 428,000.
According to data from the Statistics and Census Service, MICE events primarily focused on meetings and conferences with 863 held, up 29.6% year-on-year. The number of participants of meetings and conferences increased by 6.7% to 82,000.
There were 27 exhibitions, up 3.8% year-on-year, attracting 2,822 exhibitors and 24,690 professional visitors, including 339 international exhibitors and 3,120 international professional visitors. This represented increases of 19.8% and 20.9% year-on-year respectively. Additionally, incentive exhibitions increased by 55.6% year-on-year to 28 events.
Exhibitions in the first half of the year included 358 under the “Commerce & Management” category, accounting for 39.0% of the total, followed by “Tourism” with 114 events and “Information Technology” with 113 events, representing 12.4% and 12.3% respectively.
However, the DSEC noted that factors such as global economic uncertainty and changes in consumption patterns of visitors led to a decrease in the number of general visitors from overseas, resulting in an 11.2% decrease in the total number of participants and attendees at MICE events to 428,000.
“Moreover, total spending of MICE visitors recorded a decline,” the DSEC stated. “These factors contributed to a 26.5% drop in MICE-driven receipts of the non-gaming industries in the Macao SAR to MOP$1.65 billion (US$205 million).”
In the second quarter alone, there were 480 MICE events, an increase of 106 events year-on-year, representing a growth rate of 28.3%. The number of participants and attendees reached 228,000, a decrease of 24.1% compared to the same period last year.
