Exhibitions and Conventions, Commerce and Trade, and Culture and Sports Industries

Exhibitions and Conventions

Macao has top-notch software and hardware facilities for exhibitions and conventions. With a large number of integrated resorts, the city provides more than 240,000 m² of world-class international conference and exhibition venues, allowing large and high-level conferences sizing over 10,000 attendees to be held concurrently.

The development of Macao’s exhibitions and conventions Industry has gained international recognition.

In 2023, the International Association of Exhibition Events (IAEE) granted the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) the IAEE International Excellence Award, which is to honor IPIM for its remarkable progress made in the internationalisation of MICE events, the cultivation of industry professionals, and the development of peripheral industries boosted by MICE event.

According to the report published by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in 2019, Macao ranked the 12^th among Asia-Pacific cities, and moved to the 48^th among the top 50 cities worldwide.

Based on the report released by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) in 2019, the market of Macao’s exhibition industry recorded a 4.2% growth, ranking among the top 10 in the Asia-Pacific region.

At present, 11 local exhibitions have obtained international accreditation, involving areas such as commerce, environmental protection, automobiles, yachts and aviation.

The influence of international exhibitions and conventions in Macao continues to grow. The city has gathered a number of renowned events.

International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (IIICF)
Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF)
Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (MIECF)
Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF)
Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE)

The international reputation and competitiveness of Macao’s exhibitions and conventions industry are constantly increasing.
Along with hosting a number of prestigious large-scale international MICE events, Macao’s image as an international MICE city continues to grow.
Events such as the International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (IIICF) have been successfully held in Macao, steadily increasing Macao’s influence and improving the effectiveness of the measures “encouraging exhibitions via conventions” and “attracting investments through exhibitions”.

Commerce and Trade

In recent years, with the implementation of various measures by the Macao SAR Government, the use of e-commerce has spread rapidly.
A significant increase has been registered in the transaction volume and the number of mobile payment transactions. For instance, the transaction volume and the number of transactions in 2022 recorded a year-on-year increase of 39.6% and 37.6% respectively. In the first eight months of 2023, the transaction volume and the number of transactions increased 15.1% and 14.4% respectively, compared to the same period in last year.
As of the end of September 2023, the number of mobile payment devices and QR code holders reached over 100,000.
With the full opening of cross-border e-commerce channels, eligible products manufactured in Macao and those from Portuguese-speaking countries represented by Macao companies, can reach consumers in Mainland China through cross-border e-commerce companies, as long as they meet the stipulated requirements.

Culture

As an important bridge for cultural exchanges between China and the West for more than 400 years, Macao’s unique culture and history have provided a solid foundation and distinct advantages for the development of the cultural industry.
According to Cultural Industries Statistics for 2019, there were 2,454 organisations and 13,659 employees. The total service receipts of the cultural industries amounted to MOP 7.85 billion and the gross value added to MOP 2.98 billion.
In general, the size of the cultural industry has shown a stable development trend. In the period between 2016 and 2019, the gross value added contributed to Macao’s economy has increased at an annual rate of at least 6%.
At present, there are 159 historical buildings in Macao registered as Classified Immovable Properties (heritage buildings) and 70 items of Intangible Cultural Heritage, including festive events and customs, gastronomic culture and local traditional crafts, which are protected by the Cultural Heritage Protection Law. Among them, 11 items were included in the Representative List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Several high-profile cultural events have been created, such as Macao Arts Festival, Macao International Music Festival, Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, “Art Macao” and hush! Concerts.
The House of Macao Literature was also established, further enriching the city’s cultural environment..

Sport

There are a number of distinctive international sports tourism events in Macao, such as Macau Grand Prix, Macao International Marathon and WTT Champions Macao. By strengthening the co-operation between local companies, associations and institutions, the sports industry has been used as a platform to promote the tourism development, and to promote the deep integration between sports, tourism and related industries, in order to increase the synergy effects of “Sports+”.