The 9^th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (referred to as the “Expo” or “MITE”) culminated in success on Sunday (11 July). Held from 9 – 11 July, the three-day Expo admitted close to 24,000 spectators and facilitated signing of 39 contracts. A total of 4,974 business-to-business meetings were conducted while the cumulative view counts hit 7.81 million for “Cloud Live Broadcast”.

The 9^th MITE was held at Halls A – B, Cotai Expo of the Venetian Macao. The exhibition covered a total area of 23,000 square meters and featured 708 booths. 394 exhibitors from 38 countries and regions joined the Expo including 106 local exhibitors, 265 exhibitors from the Mainland and Taiwan region as well as 23 international exhibitors. There were 339 buyers including 195 hosted buyers from the Mainland and 144 online buyers from across the world.

The Expo once again brought together virtual and physical exhibitions radiant with five major highlights and “tourism +” elements, to support members of the tourism and related industries to deepen exchange and cooperation and navigate business opportunities together.

Cloud Series achieved significant results

As one of the Expo’s major highlights, the “Cloud Series” was enhanced to create a stronger synergy of online and offline exhibitions:

“Cloud B2B”: Extended from 2 days to a stretch of 14 days, “Cloud B2B” was held from 28 June to 11 July to line up 52 exhibitors with 162 buyers for 412 online business-to-business meetings. For on-site business matching, a total of 4,974 business-to-business meetings were conducted in two days.

“Cloud Contract Signing”/on-site contract signing: The 9^th MITE facilitated online and offline signing of 39 contracts, involving 44 enterprises. Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, Zhu Hong, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and President of Macau Travel Agency Association, Alex Lao, witnessed the signing ceremonies among other guests.

“Cloud Live Broadcast”: live streams spanning 41 hours in total were conducted by two Mainland KOLs and six Macao KOLs at “Cloud Live Broadcast” during the three-day Expo, participated by 35 on-site exhibitors. The cumulative view counts hit 7.81 million throughout the three days. The peak count of concurrent viewers reached 123,000.

“Cloud Live Promotion”: 34 countries and regions participated in “Cloud Live Promotion” with 21 online promotion sessions during the three days, engaging 630 on-site spectators. The sessions were also live streamed on MITE’s website.

Diverse and fascinating major exhibition zones

The Expo teemed with a variety of captivating major exhibition zones, pavilions and booths to manifest the colorful glamour of “tourism +”.

Exhibitors at the “Macao Street” and “Multi-destination Cooperation Pavilion” actively promoted Macao tourism products and multi-destination tourism products across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, while Macau Hotel Association lined up 53 member hotels and resorts at the mega special pavilion to showcase their hotel products and services to Expo visitors.

The “Gastronomy Pavilion” gathered 18 local catering businesses to offer a diversity of Macao’s signature delicacies for the public, promoting Macao’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. The three-day Expo also presented 14 sessions of “City of Gastronomy” culinary demonstration, featuring 10 acclaimed chefs from Chengdu, Shunde, Yangzhou and Macao for creation of signature dishes, demonstration of superb cutting skills, and introduction of culinary delights, among other highlights. 

The zone of “Cultural and Creative Shops” showcased “tourism + cultural and creative” products from Macao, whereas the “MAK MAK Pavilion” promoted and sold tourism products themed after Macao Tourism Mascot “MAK MAK”, to radiate the charm of Macao’s cultural and creative scene.

Arranged by the Economic and Technological Development Bureau, 20 local “Distinctive Shops” such as eateries, confectionaries and bakeries, souvenir shops, retailers and handicraft businesses joined the Expo as exhibitors to manifest the unique colors of Macao’s community culture.  

Delivering Macao’s function as a Sino-Portuguese exchange platform

The Promotion Seminar of Tourism Products from Portuguese Speaking Countries was held at the Expo to showcase tourism resources and products from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe as well as East Timor, to promote Sino-Portuguese exchange and cooperation in tourism, delivering Macao’s role as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Furthermore, the 9^th MITE staged 42 physical meetings, presentation seminars and forums in total.

For more related information, please visit MITE’s official website: www.mitexpo.mo, WeChat ID and Facebook page.