Tourism expo breaks records with global participation

The recent 13th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE) marked a record-breaking year with increased participation and stronger business outcomes across all metrics.

According to data from the Macao Government Tourism Office, a total of 59 contracts were signed – up from last year – with over 16,000 business matching sessions conducted both online and offline.

The number of international booths surged by 50%, as exhibitors from 70 countries and regions set up 1,502 booths across 30,000 square meters at the Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo.

This year’s edition also saw the highest number of participating exhibitors and countries since its inception.

The event attracted over 38,000 visitors and featured 75 tourism-related forums and presentations, including industry-specific seminars and high-level discussions on Greater Bay Area tourism development.

Live-stream sales sessions saw notable growth, with 28 broadcasts across platforms such as Douyin, Facebook, and TikTok.

MGTO said that these sessions, led by KOLs with over one million followers, generated more than 26 million cumulative views and pageviews. MITE also debuted a digital human host and AI-powered real-time translation to enhance engagement.

New pavilions such as the Coffee Station, Sports GearUp, Halal Horizons Pavilion, and EduTourism Hive expanded the event’s “tourism +” concept.

The Belt and Road Products Pavilion alone drew over 4.7 million livestream views and saw 80% new exhibitors.

Under its “one exhibition, two destinations” format, the Expo connected Macau and Hengqin, promoting educational tourism through seminars and familiarization tours.

Hosted buyers also explored local attractions and met with tourism stakeholders in both regions.