Number of events rose 29% in first half of year

The number of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) events rose by 29.3% (+208) year-on-year to 918 in the first half of 2025, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

According to the same release, the number of events themed “Commerce & Management” and “Information Technology” increased by 91 and 36, respectively.

Most of the MICE events held during this period were meetings and conferences, totaling 863.

This figure represents a 29.6% increase (+197) compared to last year. Meanwhile, the number of participants rose by 6.7% to 82,000.

As for exhibitions, this type of MICE event grew just 3.8%, only one more event (27) than in the same period last year.

Statistics on exhibitions showed that these 27 events attracted 2,822 exhibitors and 24,690 professionals.

The number of international exhibitors (339) and professional visitors (3,120) also increased, recording rises of 19.8% and 20.9%, respectively.

In addition, the number of incentives increased by 55.6% (+10) to 28.

The DSEC’s analysis of the main themes of the events found that most were centered on “Commerce & Management,” accounting for 39% (358) of the total. Coming second were events on “Tourism” (114) and “Information Technology” (113), at 12.4% and 12.3%, respectively.

Association and corporate meetings continued to top the list of the most frequently held events, with 351 and 330, respectively. Government meetings (165) came third.

These types of events accounted for 38.2%, 35.9%, and 18% of the total number of MICE events, while exhibitions (27) made up only 2.9%.

More events but fewer participants

While the number of MICE events continued to grow, the number of participants and attendees moved in the opposite direction, dropping by 11.2% year over year to 428,000.

DSEC explained this decrease as due to a fall in non-local general exhibition attendees amid global economic uncertainties and changes in the consumption patterns of visitor arrivals to Macau. Concurrently, MICE visitors’ spending also declined.

DSEC said that all these factors contributed to a 26.5% drop in MICE-driven receipts of the non-gaming industries, falling to MOP1.65 billion.

This imbalance between the growing number of events and the declining number of participants and attendees was even more significant in the second quarter of the year (Q2), when the number of MICE events grew by 28.3% (+106) year-on-year to 480, while the number of participants and attendees dipped by 24.1% to 228,000.

In this quarter, meetings and conferences (451), exhibitions (15), and incentives (14) increased by 102, 1, and 3 events, respectively, year over year.