Gov’t launches survey to assess impact on MICE

The Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has launched a survey to assess the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak in the meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE) industry.
The virus has disrupted several events and occasions in the city including the six-month-long Art Macao mega event, and the 2020 Macau International Environmental Cooperation Forum & Exhibition.
The IPIM survey will assess various impacts on the industry, from how many events have been canceled to the estimated reduction in revenue derived from canceled and postponed events.
The survey is also seeking to collect profit forecasts for the first half of 2020 which take into account the epidemic’s impact on the economy.
IPIM is calling on operators in the MICE industry to answer the survey by February 21.
The latest data shows that in the first three quarters of 2019 there were 1,075 MICE events, with total number of participants and attendees falling by 8.3% year-on-year to 1.26 million.
Last week, the government announced a raft of financial measures aiming to make the recovery for both local residents and companies in the coming months easier. This includes the measure that aim to support the SMEs of different sectors.
Some 3,000 SMEs will benefit from a tax reduction that allows these companies to increase their deduction ceiling from the current free income tax rate to MOP300,000.
IPIM is set to resume basic services today, alongside many other government entities and departments. LV