Macau Seeking to Stimulate MICE Travel

The Macau Business Tourism Center has introduced the “Strategic MICE Market Stimulation Programme” to assist business tourism partners. MGTO Director Joao Manuel Costa Antunes told this week’s annual marketing meeting in Macau that the program includes three categories: Meetings and Conventions, Exhibitions and Incentives.

Antunes said that “world tourism is facing a global financial crisis and the pandemic threat of H1N1 (swine flu) and Macau’s tourism industry is no exception to the impact.”

According to provisional data, visitor arrivals to Macau exceeded 8.9 million during the first five months of the year, a drop of 10 percent compared with the same period in 2008. International visitors totaled 1.1 million, a decrease of 12 percent.

The top 10 visitor generating markets for the first five months of 2009 are Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and the U.S.