In late September, over 1,300 representatives from a dozen of countries gathered in the Macao Special Administrative Region to attend the 13th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum. A guest speaker there was visibly very excited to talk face to face with old friends, partners and industry leaders, an experience which he said he had not enjoyed for two years as the annual forum was held virtually since 2020. The audience burst into applause in response to his words.
In the first half of 2022, Macao held 188 MICE events, covering meetings, incentives travels, conferences and exhibitions. The number of MICE events participants during this period reached 471,000, which is not only higher than the same period in 2020 and 2021, but also recovered to about 70 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to the Statistics and Census Service of Macao SAR.
Affected by the resurgence of pandemic, the number of tourists visiting Macao dropped by 11.8 percent year-on-year in Q1 and Q2 this year. Yet the SAR still recorded 3.1 percent year-on-year growth in the number of MICE events participants.
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The industries are recovering even faster in Singapore, another strong rival of Hong Kong. In the first quarter of this year alone, over 150 fairs, exhibitions and conferences were held in the small island state, attracting 37,000 people to attend. Both the number of events and the number of participants reached over 70 percent of the total numbers in 2021, according to Singapore’s local newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.
As the country has removed all anti-pandemic restrictions for inoculated inbound travelers since April, many large-scale MICE events also relocated from Hong Kong to Singapore, including the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo Asia.
During the past two years, Hong Kong’s MICE industries suffered its coldest winter. According to 10times, which claimed to be the world's largest business event platform, Hong Kong only have 235 convention and exhibition activities scheduled from late- September to the end of this year, only 36 percent of Singapore. The number is also far behind the 2,538 events in London and 1,283 events in Washington.
Although the latest “0+3” entry policy has injected new vigor to the sectors, it seems it will still take quite some time for the complete resumption of normal overseas travels, and many things can be done at the current stage to catch up with the competitors.
To revive more pandemic-hit industries, some cities have connected MICE industries with the development of other sectors. For instance, the Macao government organized guided tours for MICE participants to visit shopping sites and restaurants in the community.
Guests of the 13th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum were also able to enjoy such tour. After the daytime meetings, they were also invited to join the guided tour arranged by the organizers and visit various local tourism attractions for free.
The Singapore Tourism Broad also launched the “INSPIRE Global 2.0” scheme, offering dozens of options for MICE participants, from dining and attractions to thematic tours and team building.
Hong Kong could also initiate a similar program to attract more business visitors and promote the joint development of tourism, catering and retail sectors.
Riding on the city’s boom of virtual reality technologies, the exhibition industry could also study and discuss feasible ways to better utilize the hitting metaverse, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies to enhance the attendees’ experience in exhibitions and meetings.
Last year, the Hong Kong government launched a scheme pledging rental exemption for exhibitions and international conventions held at two local top-tier exhibition venues, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and AsiaWorld-Expo.
However, in a survey launched by the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association in August of 2021, 55 percent of event organizers and 66 percent of non-event organizers said that the government’s assistance didn’t help them much to continue their operations.
Besides strengthening financial supports, the authorities may also offer more diversified facilitation to fuel the momentum for the sectors’ revival, such as providing more training to practitioners to increase their competitiveness, and seek feasible ways to strengthen communication with nearby cities like Macao and Shenzhen for joint development of MICE industries.
Experiencing a long time of darkness brought by the disconnection with overseas world, the relaxation of entry rules has finally brought some hope for all. It’s time for the industries to think seriously about how to grasp the long-awaited opportunities for faster and stronger recovery, and build strengths for future growth.
William Xu has been covering political and metro news for China Daily since 2020. He is also keen to discover lifestyles and trends in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and can be reached at williamxu@chinadailyhk.com.
In late September, over 1,300 representatives from a dozen of countries gathered in the Macao Special Administrative Region to attend the 13th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum. A guest speaker there was visibly very excited to talk face to face with old friends, partners and industry leaders, an experience which he said he had not enjoyed for two years as the annual forum was held virtually since 2020. The audience burst into applause in response to his words.