The “Sub-forum: Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Forum on MICE Tourism Economy” of “the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Fair for Trade in Services (BAFTIS)” was held in Macao today (7 December) in the innovative “multi-venue” event organising mode. Zhang Jingsong, Director of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province; Huang Zhihao, Mayor of Zhuhai Municipality; U U Sang, President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute; Zhao Hong, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province and nearly 180 elites, experts and scholars in the MICE and tourism sectors from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao gathered together to have three keynote speeches and two roundtable discussions under the theme of “Reconnection in the Diversified MICE Tourism”.

A representative from the local MICE industry considered that the Forum has built an effective platform for the MICE practitioners from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to have cross-regional industrial exchanges, proposing new ways to learn about the latest information on the industry’s development around the world, the strategies for the development of the cities in the GBA, and ways to strengthen the synergistic effect of MICE and tourism through regional co-operation.

New business modes are emerging in Macao’s MICE sector to seize the business opportunities generated from the cross-regional integration of the MICE industry in the GBA

According to Zhang Jingsong, Director of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, in his speech at the Forum, the BAFTIS is one of the key achievements made by the efforts to advance the trade in services in the GBA. This year’s BAFTIS features the overall development of the service trade in Guangdong province, the characteristics of the development in the “9+2” cities of the GBA and the progress made in the development of major platforms. In the meantime, the BAFTIS has also adopted the “multi-venue event” mode to establish a platform for industrial exchange in the GBA.

Huang Zhihao, Mayor of Zhuhai Municipality, highlighted in his speech that Zhuhai rolled out the “Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) MICE Tourism Belt” in 2019 to explore the integrated organisation of MICE events and share MICE resources in the three places leveraging the HZMB as a link, with the aim to accelerate the alignment with the high-end international elements; he believed that the in-depth integration between the MICE and tourism sectors can deliver more convenient and personalised experiences to tourists and attendees alike, therefore fuelling the GBA’s development.

Three keynote speeches + two round-table discussions to explore new opportunities in the industry

Jiang Huai, Vice President and Secretary General of China Convention/Exhibition/Event Society; Jia Yunfeng, an expert of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO); and Andrew Hogg, Executive General Manager Eastern Markets Aviation at Tourism Australia, delivered their keynote speeches at the Forum ran under the theme of “New Ecological Restructuring and Development Trends of MICE”, “Four-Two-One” Initiative for Breakthroughs in MICE and Cultural Tourism Industries in the GBA” and “How to Build an Ace MICE City”. Well-known scholars, experts and elites from the industry conducted two roundtable discussions revolving around the themes of “City Talk on MICE” and “Synergistic Effect of Cultural, Commercial and Tourism Industries in the Greater Bay Area”, inspiring new ideas on hosting conventions and exhibitions.

A tour was organised for merchants to experience the MICE environment firsthand and understand Macao’s strengths in holding MICE events

To further promote Macao as an ideal destination for conventions and exhibitions, the IPIM organised professional Mainland merchants attending the event to visit a number of hardware and software supporting facilities for MICE events in Macao on-site after the Forum, including the MICE facilities and venues and the cultural and entertainment projects recently put into use in Macao. This left merchants with a deep impression of the rich MICE resources in Macao and is expected to attract more high-quality MICE events to Macao.