Whenever the word Macao is mentioned, people of a certain generation automatically think of the casinos that earned the city the nickname Las Vegas of the East towards the end of the 20th century.
However, younger travellers see Macao differently: it’s a destination where spectacle and tradition are woven together to create truly unique experiences that capture the nuances of both east and west.
Likewise, the global MICE sector considers Macao one of its leading destinations, thanks to venues capable of hosting massive crowds, mounting larger-than-life exhibitions, and staging events that bring participants in from all corners of the world.
Indeed, the Macao SAR government reported recently that a record-breaking 1,681 MICE events were staged there in 2025, registering an increase of 149 percent in participants and 89 percent in casual visitors from the total recorded in 2024.
These record-breaking totals are the direct result of the MICE sector’s close alignment with the government’s long-term development strategy for economic diversification, tangible proof that Macao has developed well beyond its old image as East Asia’s gaming hub.
No longer in Hong Kong’s shadow
For many travellers, particularly from the 1970s and well into the 1990s, Macao was little more than a side trip for those spending time in Hong Kong.
The city, at the time, was something of a novelty: a quaint, even bucolic, contrast to the highly westernised bustle of its Greater Bay Area (GBA) neighbour; incredibly foreign, even for a region marked by colonisation, as it was Portuguese rather than British, Spanish, or even Dutch.
But now, Macao is definitely a destination in its own right; just last week, Hong Kong publication The Standard reported that Macao has more than surpassed its pre-pandemic arrival totals, closing 2025 with 40.06 million arrivals in all.
That’s not bad at all and not too far from Hong Kong’s total of 49.9 million tourists; indeed, it would not be too much of a stretch to say that Macao actually recovered from the impact of COVID-19 faster than its nearest neighbour.
To quote Veronica Lam Iok Keng, assistant professor at the Macao University of Tourism: “Macau’s position in the Greater Bay Area is stronger than its current image suggests [as] it is China’s designated World Centre for Tourism and Leisure. The numbers also point to where real value sits. The Statistics and Census Service reports that visitors’ total non-gaming spend rose by 6.3 percent year on year to MOP 80.12 billion.”
Beyond gaming
This brings us into Macao’s current thrust towards quality tourism, seeing how it is working to offer global travellers truly unique experiences that are both expertly curated and delivered to end-consumers.
In January of last year, the Macao Government Tourism Officer (MGTO) announced that it would enhance the integration of tourism and adjacent industries in its tourism + initiative as a way of boosting economic diversification.
Along with MICE, related initiatives have involved a major increase in the number of hotels operating in the vicinity over the past year, including the Capella Galaxy Macau and The Londoner, part of the Luxury Collection; a more diverse range of interests featured at the 13th edition of the Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE), as well as a variety of cultural and sporting events at key venues throughout the city.
That said, the MGTO has made significant progress in different projects to secure the Greater China market and expand international markets.
Quo vadis, Macao?
Macao is not a territory that rests on its laurels; far from it, as the Macao Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) is all set to work with the local and global MICE sector this year to align current and upcoming endeavours with national development strategies.
This will also lead to enhanced resilience for Macao’s MICE sector, especially in these unsettled times, whilst fostering internationalisation, professionalism, and innovation across industries.
Infrastructure is also developing at a rapid clip as another means of attracting potential investors to the territory.
For this to succeed, however, it is imperative that Macao authorities work on their promotional messaging: to go beyond the glitter and glamour to give travellers a more authentic, more meaningful look at the city so that they may appreciate the richness of its heritage whilst pondering the direction it aims to take for its future growth.
In which case, we take a cue from Professor Lam’s sentiments: “For a city that depends so heavily on tourism, clear communication matters. Delivering on those promises matters even more. Therefore, there is a need to invest in innovative products, strengthen service quality standards, and build links across sectors. Together, they determine resilience.”
