13th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo facilities over 10,000 business matching sessions as an international platform

The 13^th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (referred to as the “Expo” or “MITE”) culminated in success on Sunday (27 April). 59 contracts were signed, while over 16,000 business matching sessions were held online and offline. The numbers of signed contracts, enterprises involved and business matching sessions all increased from last year. The numbers of countries and regions involved, exhibitors and booths reached an all-time-high this year. The number of international exhibitor booths surged by 50%. MITE functioned as an impactful platform that created a myriad of business opportunities in tourism, delivering Macao’s unique advantages and role as a facilitator of international connections.

Contracts, enterprises and business matching sessions increase

Exhibitors and buyers express satisfaction and interest in future participation
59 contracts were signed for cooperation in various fields of tourism, health and wellness, IP trendy fun, educational tourism, culture and so forth, an increase of four from last year. 125 enterprises signed contracts at MITE, a rise of 18 from last year. A total of 16,225 business matching sessions were conducted online and offline by far, a surge of over 1,000 compared with last edition. Online business matching sessions are going on until 30 April.

Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) solicited opinions from exhibitors and buyers, who in general expressed satisfaction towards the 13^th MITE overall. Over 80% of exhibitors and buyers expressed support for the next edition of MITE and interest in participation. The three-day event admitted over 38,000 visitors, which was 1,000 more than last year. The receipts for the MAK MAK grand lucky draw amounted to an expenditure of over 6.30 million patacas.

Exhibitors from 70 countries and regions explore tourism opportunities

Macao plays an international platform

The 13^th MITE was held at Halls A, B and C, Cotai Expo of the Venetian Macao from 25 – 27 April. The Expo occupied an area of 30,000 square meters. The numbers of countries and regions involved, exhibitors and booths reached the highest record since the inaugural edition. The number of international exhibitor booths surged by 50%. The figures revealed MITE’s role as an international platform that opened up a wealth of business opportunities. Coming from 70 countries and regions, 755 tourism-related enterprises and governmental entities set up a total of 1,502 booths at MITE. There were 316 booths in the Mainland zone, 411 in the Macao zone, 14 in the Hong Kong zone, 343 in the international zone and 418 in other exhibit zones (such as the Belt and Road Products Pavilion, Foodie Market, Coffee Station and The Cellar). There were 496 hosted buyers from around the world.

The 13^th Expo engaged a diversity of exhibitors including travel agencies, tourism-related entities and enterprises as well as over 20 governmental tourism offices from 70 countries and regions across Asia, Europe, Americas, Africa and Oceania. The tourism offices included Asia Tourism Exchange Center. Tourism authorities from Korea, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Hamburg of Germany, Sweden, Burundi, Kenya, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Kazakhstan participated in MITE for the first time. Other participating tourism offices came from Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Jordan, Tunisia, Norway and other countries. 51 exhibitors came from countries and regions along the Belt and Road, while nine exhibitors came from Portuguese-speaking countries. 98 exhibitors came from eight cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (excluding Hong Kong and Macao). There were tourism offices and enterprises from 20 Mainland provinces and municipalities as well.

Views of live-stream sales and pageviews exceed 26 million

An AI digital human debuted as a host and virtual anchor at MITE, along with application of AI audio real-time translation service. Invited to create a new media matrix, 15 Mainland and overseas KOLs with one million followers conducted live-stream sales and promotions for exhibitors on nine e-commerce and social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Taobao, Weixin Channels, TikTok, Weibo and YouTube. 28 sessions of live-stream sales were conducted over the three days, which increased by eight from last edition. The cumulative count of live-stream views and pageviews exceeded 26 million. Several Mainland and overseas KOLs were also invited to conduct promotions for MITE through live streams, graphic and written posts as well as videos on various channels and platforms.

75 tourism presentations and forums

75 tourism presentation sessions, forums and other sessions were held at MITE, an increase of 20 from last year. There were a range of destination presentations, “CrescentRating Certified: Muslim-Friendly Hotel Grading Seminar”, “Chinese Mainland and Macao Inbound Tourism Promotion”, “2025 High-level Forum on Greater Bay Area Tourism Development: Strategies to Internationalise the Culture and Tourism Market of GBA”, “Safe Travel” — Consular Protection and Assistance Awareness Activity, as well as “Champions’ Roundtable: Legacy Exchange Session”, among other activities.

Various new pavilions present diverse “tourism +”

Under the theme of “Explore MITE, Experience the World”, the Expo featured six brand-new major highlights to foster partnership opportunities in “tourism +”. This year, MITE set up the first Coffee Station, where premium coffee beans from Portuguese-speaking countries and specialty brands were on sale. A “Sports GearUp” pop-up store was launched at MITE to display the giant mascots and souvenirs of the 15^th National Games, the national sports event of this year co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao for the first time. The first Halal Horizons Pavilion also debuted at MITE, bringing together Halal enterprises from the Mainland and Macao. Dedicated to Macao’s designation as a Culture City of East Asia 2025, Cultural Affairs Bureau curated a themed pavilion.

The Belt and Road Products Pavilion was expanded to almost 700 square meters. Close to 80% of exhibitors were new at MITE. Product diversity increased by 37% from last year. The Pavilion featured “Belt and Road Live Streaming” for the first time. Coming from countries along the Belt and Road, influencers with over one million followers were invited to team up with local live streamers for bilingual promotions and live-stream sales of products. The view count of “Belt and Road Live Streaming” reached 4,752,064.

The EduTourism Hive was doubled in size. Ten cultural and museum institutions including Guangdong Museum, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Shandong Museum, Shanxi Museum and Henan Museum, joined the Expo. The Macao Grand Prix Museum and Macao Science Center were exhibitors for the first time. An award ceremony for the “Travel & Learn” Itinerary Planning Competition was held to promote collaboration between the industry, academia and research. Related tourism associations and winners signed letters of intent that will turn award-winning works into products.

“One exhibition, two destinations” showcases Macao and Hengqin’s tourism resources to industry delegates from worldwide

Under the format of “one exhibition, two destinations”, the Expo connected the resources of Macao and Hengqin to tap into the educational travel market for both destinations. The “2^nd Hong Kong and Macao Youths Mainland Study Tour Alliance (Macao) Promotional Event” was held at the Expo venue in Macao. The “Macao-Hengqin Discovery Quest: 2025 Summer Educational Travel Seminar” took place and launched summer educational tourism products at the exhibition venue in Hengqin, bringing together over 100 attendees including MITE’s international buyers, members of overseas familiarization delegations, educational tourism enterprises from Macao, Hengqin and the Mainland, as well as representatives of tour agencies which operate group tours with multiple entries between Macao and Hengqin.

Capitalizing on this international travel trade fair, MGTO has arranged Macao community tours and a familiarization visit to Hengqin for hosted buyers from worldwide, providing an opportunity for MITE industry participants to explore hidden gems and businesses in local communities, in turn invigorating the community economy. The tours offered a window onto the tourism resources and destination appeal of Macao and Hengqin. Furthermore, MGTO invited about 100 representatives of overseas travel agency associations and Hong Kong travel trade to join the Trade Gathering Mini-Mart at MITE, where they discussed business opportunities with tourism operators in Macao. They also inspected different local communities. In addition, some industry delegates joined the familiarization visit to Hengqin.

UFI-Approved International Event

In 2021, MITE received the accreditation from the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) as an “UFI Approved International Event”, showing to the world Macao’s comprehensive capabilities to organize international travel trade fairs. The Expo embraces the vision to attain innovative and quality enhancement, with the dedication to creating a powerhouse of “tourism +”, fostering adequate diversification of Macao’s economy and enriching the city’s offerings as a world centre of tourism and leisure.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, the 13^th edition of MITE is organized by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and coordinated by Macau Travel Agency Association.

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