Macao’s meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) sector posted strong growth in 2025, with both event numbers and non-gaming receipts rising sharply, according to data released on Friday by the Statistics and Census Service (known by its Portuguese initials DSEC).
A total of 1,861 MICE events were held during the year, up 22.1 percent year-on-year. The number of participants and attendees rose 10.7 percent to around 1.47 million, while MICE-driven receipts for non-gaming industries increased 16.4 percent to 6.28 billion patacas. The sector is a key pillar of Macao’s economy, with MICE attendees ranking as the SAR’s highest-spending visitors by far.
These figures are underscored by accolades Macao and its MICE venues received in 2025, including being named Best BT-MICE City at the prestigious TTG Travel Awards and Best Conventions Destination (Asia) at the M&C Asia Stella Awards, both held in Thailand.
Meetings and conferences continued to account for the bulk of activity. The number of these rose 22.1 percent year-on-year to 1,737 events in 2025, attracting around 218,000 participants, an increase of 19.2 percent. Conferences alone climbed 31 percent to 38 events, with participant numbers up 41.6 percent to roughly 29,000.
[See more: 2025 figures show Macao visitors spending more on non-gaming activities]
A total of 65 exhibitions were held during the year, up 6.6 percent year-on-year, drawing around 1.25 million attendees, an increase of 10 percent. These events attracted 7,369 exhibitors and more than 82,000 professional visitors.
International exhibitors accounted for 14 percent of the total, up 4.6 percentage points year-on-year, while international professional visitors made up 8.3 percent – an increase of 1.4 percentage points. Incentive events meanwhile soared 47.5 percent, with 59 held in 2025.
In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, Macao staged 564 MICE events, up 21.3 percent year-on-year. The number of participants and attendees surged 50.4 percent to about 487,000, which DSEC attributed to the SAR’s rollout of several new large-scale exhibitions.
Non-gaming receipts linked to MICE activities during the quarter jumped 86.6 percent year-on-year to 2.58 billion patacas (US$320 million), which DSEC said was driven by “the strong upward trend in the number of participants and attendees and the per-capita spending of MICE visitors.”
