Convention and exhibition industry abuzz

The carnage wrought by Typhoon Hato has raised questions in the industry about whether the conventions and exhibitions sector has been affected and what to expect from the rest of the year, according to the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).
One of the sector representatives quoted by IPIM noted that in the wake of the typhoon September still saw two convention delegations visit the hotel property the individual is employed at, with 12,000 and 14,000 participants, respectively. The representative noted that due to ‘the joint efforts of all sectors, the city has rapidly recovered, all business was back to normal and the hotel has successfully confirmed a large number of new businesses,’ as quoted by IPIM.
A sector representative of another hotel in the territory noted that large conventions and exhibitions in the city have led to an occupancy rate of the hotel of 95 per cent.
Yet another representative of a hotel told the trade institute that the MSAR has become an ideal destination for convention and exhibition organisers from around the world due to the comprehensive infrastructure and world-class facilities specifically designed to cater to the sector.
Official statistics show that 333 conventions and exhibition events were held in the second quarter of 2017, of which 308 were conventions, posting an increase of 16 events compared to the same period of the previous year.
For the fourth quarter of this year, several large convention and exhibition events will take place in Macau, with the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) confirming the hotel industry is optimistic.