In celebration of the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao SAR, the 12^th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (referred to as the “Expo” or “MITE”) culminated in success on Sunday (28 April). In parallel with the “1 + 4” development strategy for adequate diversification to deepen integration across “tourism +”, MITE featured seven major highlights under the theme of “Meet at MITE: Discovery, Networking, Interaction!”.  Tourism industry participants from worldwide fostered exchange and explored possibilities at MITE as an international professional travel industry fair.

The three-day Expo facilitated signing of 55 contracts and admitted over 37,000 spectators in total. The receipts for the MAK MAK grand lucky draw amounted to an expenditure of over 8.45 million patacas, a rise of over 50% from last edition.

The 12^th MITE took place at Halls A, B and C, Cotai Expo of the Venetian Macao from 26 – 28 April 2024. The exhibition area was expanded to a total of 30,000 square meters. The Expo was held on the largest scale ever over the 12 years since the first edition in terms of the exhibition area and the numbers of booths and exhibitors. Coming from 54 countries and regions, 668 enterprises and entities joined the Expo as exhibitors in total. There were 1,353 booths including 290 in the Mainland zone, 399 in the Macao zone, 35 in the zone of Hong Kong and Taiwan Region, 218 in the international zone and 411 run by other exhibitors. The Expo engaged 502 buyers in total, including international and Mainland hosted buyers as well as buyers from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The Expo once again gathered worldwide industry delegates in Macao as an impactful and professional travel fair that significantly enhanced exchange among members of the international travel trade. Geographically, the exhibitors included travel agencies, tourism-related entities and businesses from 54 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. National offices of tourism and related industries from 17 countries as follows: Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Portugal, Spain, Australia, Laos, Norway, Denmark, Jordan, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan marked their participation as well. There were exhibitors from 39 countries and regions along the Belt and Road, and 9 Portuguese-speaking countries. The exhibitors also included 68 tourism offices and enterprises from eight cities (besides Hong Kong and Macao) in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as 19 Mainland provinces and municipalities.

55 product and destination presentations, forums and other activities were held during the Expo, to offer residents and visitors an update of tourism information and products from Macao and around the world.

Follow “1+4” development strategy for adequate economic diversification

For two consecutive years, the “1+4 Pavilion” was set up at MITE, engaging over 50 businesses as exhibitors from the four key industries of health and wellness, modern financial services, innovative technology, conferences and exhibitions, commerce and trade as well as culture and sports. The exhibition area was more than doubled from the last edition. Products, projects and services in the “1 + 4” industries were showcased, such as wholesome food products, health and wellness products, skincare products, modern technology products, bank services, culture and tourism.

Expo fosters various collaborations

MGTO continued to promote public-private collaborations in Macao and across different countries and regions. 55 contracts were signed, involving 107 enterprises from Macao, the Mainland and different countries for collaborative projects in the seven fields of tourism, health and wellness, air services, educational tourism, wedding and more. The Expo also facilitated 13,386 on-site and 1,482 online business matching sessions (on-site business matching ended on the night of 30 April, whereas the number of on-site business matching sessions was up until 28 April), supporting worldwide industry operators to widen their business network.

Exhibitors from eight countries and regions at Belt and Road Products Pavilion

MITE featured the first “Belt and Road Products Pavilion” that showcased distinctive commodities from eight countries and regions along the Belt and Road. The Pavilion created new opportunities for “bringing in” excellent products and “going global” to tap into new markets, highlighting the significance of the Belt and Road.

Interaction through “one exhibition, two cities”

In the format of “one exhibition, two cities”, MGTO partnered with the Economic Development Bureau of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin to organize the “Macao – Hengqin Outdoor Camping Industry Salon” and the upcoming Macao-Hengqin Camqing Fair 2024 for the first time, as one of the event highlights this year. In addition, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) presented an exhibit zone of outdoor camping for visitors’ immersive experience of trendy camping scenery and fun at MITE in Macao. On the other hand, “Macao – Hengqin Outdoor Camping Industry Salon” was held in Hengqin and gathered 180 professional audiences, international buyers and overseas familiarization delegates for participation. The Salon offered opportunities for camping, recreational vehicle and other outdoor travel industries and supply chains to connect resources and forge business partnerships. The event considerably extended the advantages brought by the Expo as a professional platform and radiated the synergy of “one exhibition, two cities” between Macao and Hengqin.

Cultural museums and educational travel infuse tourism with fresh momentum

Cultural museums and institutions including the Palace Museum and National Museum of China presented cultural museum and creative products at the Themed Pavilion of Cultural Museums and Educational Tourism, which exemplified the wonderful confluence of tourism and cultural museums. “A Museum Journey: Macao and China Cultural Exchange Meeting” was held to deepen the concerted development of “tourism + education and inject a new impetus to tourism. MGTO launched the “Travel & Learn” Itinerary planning Competition to encourage innovative creation, explore educational tourism resources in Macao and raise the public’s awareness of educational travel.

New Media Matrix reaches remarkable results

Through “New Media Matrix”, 74 exhibitors from Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan Region, international destinations as well as the Belt and Road countries and regions showcased their products and services widely across multiple channels. Nine online influencers conducted live-stream selling and promotion for exhibitors on ten social platforms including Facebook, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, WeChat, Weibo, Diantao, Miaopai, Mafengwo, WeChat Channels and Aomi. Over 20 live streams and 123 promotional posts were made. The cumulative count of live-stream views and pageviews hit 12.45 million. Several Mainland and overseas KOLs were also invited to live stream some of the promotional highlights on MGTO’s platforms on WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Line, Facebook, Instagram and so forth.

MAK MAK grand lucky draw enjoys popularity

Diverse and attractive prizes were granted in MAK MAK grand lucky draw, such as round-trip air tickets to destinations in the Americas, Europe and Southeast Asia, coupons for five-star hotel accommodation and buffet coupons, credit card cash rewards, mobile phones and laptops. The receipts that were received for the lucky draw throughout the three-day Expo were equivalent to a total expenditure of 8.45 million patacas, a rise of over 50% from last edition.

Worldwide industry operators inspect tourism resources in Macao and Hengqin

Close to 100 representatives of overseas travel agency associations and around 500 hosted buyers from different parts of the world came all the way to Macao for participation in MITE and the Trade Gathering Mini-Mart. During their stay, some of them joined the familiarization tours in Macao and Hengqin for a first-hand experience of Macao’s “tourism +” elements. Some also paid an arranged familiarization visit to the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and participated in the “Macao – Hengqin Outdoor Camping Industry Salon” for an experience of different tourism resources in Hengqin.

Starting from this edition, MITE will be held every April so that exhibitors can seize the timely opportunities before summer holidays to gain greater yields at the Expo, joining hands with industry partners from worldwide to take a new step forward into mutual progress and sustainable tourism development.

To review the event highlights and more information, please visit MITE’s official website: www.mitexpo.mo, or follow MITE on Facebook and WeChat.