Feature

Trade Fair Industry in Asia Report Comments on the Positive Development of Macao’s MICE Industry

UFI releases the 15th edition of the Trade Fair Industry in Asia, commenting on the positive development of Macao’s MICE industry

The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) released the 15th edition of the Trade Fair Industry in Asia report in August, which summarises the development of the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industry in Asia during 2018. A total of 27 B2B exhibitions that took place in Macao in 2018 were included in the UFI report’s statistics. According to the report, the revenue of Macao’s MICE industry is estimated to have reached nearly US$55.40 million in 2018, while net sales of exhibition space rose from 197,400 square metres in 2014 to 228,750 squares metres in 2018, representing an increase of approximately 16%.

UFI is one of the leading global associations of the industry and represents exhibition managers and professional exhibition organisers from around the world. It strives to enhance the regional and international development of exhibition industries. UFI annually engages professional consulting companies to run survey on trade fairs (B2B events) across Asia, and accordingly releases the Trade Fair Industry in Asia report, which serves as a key reference for international exhibition organisers and managers.

The 15th edition of the Trade Fair Industry in Asia report shows that a number of well-developed trade fair markets in the Asia-Pacific region recorded steady growth in 2018. According to the report, Cambodia was the fastest-growing trade fair market in 2018 in terms of net sales of exhibition space. Macao recorded a growth of 5.2% in 2018, ranking among the top ten in the region. The city’s growth rate was higher than the average regional growth, which was 4.8%, reflecting an excellent performance for Macao’s trade fair market. In recent years, the MICE industry has positively contributed to Macao’s economic development. The report also pointed out that the healthy development of Macao’s trade fair market could be maintained because of a number of positive factors, including but not limited to: the strong support provided by the Macao Government to the MICE industry; the constant optimisation of the city’s transport infrastructure; the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge; and the inauguration of a centre for large-scale international events. All these favourable factors – including the ramp up of the new exhibition centre – are expected to help develop further Macao’s trade fair market.

The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) became a UFI member in October 2005. Since then, IPIM has actively participated in events organised by UFI and conducted bilateral exchanges with global trade fair organisations. Over the years, thanks to the co-operation between the Macao Government and the city’s MICE industry, local exhibition brands have been developed steadily. Eight local exhibition brands have been recognised by UFI, covering sectors such as trade, franchising, environmental protection, automobiles, yachting and aviation. IPIM has collaborated closely with the local MICE sector and successfully bid to host the 2020 edition of the UFI Asia Pacific Conference. It will be the second time for Macao to host this event, after a successful edition in 2008. The latest event will help develop further the city’s MICE industry by attracting trade fair managers and professional exhibition organisers from around the world to Macao.