MACAU welcomed a new association for professionals in the meetings, incentives and special events industry last Tuesday.
Todd Cai, president of the Macau Meetings, Incentives and Special Events Association (MISE), said the association was a year in the making, “after the Macau government announced that MICE is a priority in its tourism strategy”.
“Thus, it’s timely to have an association with an international network to (promote) Macau as a destination (for business events),” Cai added.
He noted that while there were many associations in Macau, most of them were focused on exhibitions and none covered the three segments of meetings, incentives and special events.
“What sets (MISE) apart is that we utilise an English platform compared to the majority of associations here which communicate in Mandarin. With more fascinating new venues coming online, it’s vital to build awareness as international MICE buyers do not understand Macau’s potential and capability well,” he said.
MISE secretary, Bruno Simoes, told TTGmice e-Weekly that many special events in Macau are organised by the government and 90 per cent of production are done by local professionals.
Simoes said: “There is a need for the private sector to drive special events like weddings and sports in different venues. While the tourism sector offers professional education (on areas like) F&B, we don’t see much (being offered) on audiovisual production or stage setup. Therefore, we plan to bring international certification courses like Certified Meeting Professional programmes to Macau.”
Other activities that MISE will get busy with include producing related reports and sharing of international case studies that will help Macau’s meetings, incentives and special events players to perform on par with other excellent destinations.
Simoes said: “This year, our white paper has got three topics to explore, namely transportation, MICE statistics, and special venues for events.”
As a non-profit organisation, MISE plans to kick off destination marketing and do at least two to three business/networking events a year, with guest speakers to discuss pertinent issues or share report findings.
Other objectives include generating business opportunities for members, to attract events from the international arena to Macau, to provide education and training to its members and the MICE industry in general, as well as provide on-the-job training for young members of the MICE industry.
