MICE’s growing dependency

2014/11/12

From：Macau Business Daily

MICE. They’re everywhere. Or could be. Millions of patacas are flowing into this sector nowadays. In fact, public money is picking up a third of total exhibition costs. Twice the 2013 hit.

Starting from yesterday, the government has begun accepting applications for a new subsidy scheme supporting local companies and non-profit associations in order to provide non-degree programmes specialising in meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) for their employees or members. This represents a continuation of the existing MSAR policy of expanding subsidies for the city’s MICE industry.
Under this new subsidy scheme, qualified local private tertiary education units, training centres or non-profit associations comprising MICE professionals can apply for up to MOP600,000 (US$75,125) to provide a non-degree training programme related to the MICE industry. This should be a short-term programme lasting less than 12 months, according to Macao Economic Services.
Another format of financial support under this new scheme allows companies or non-profit associations with conventions and exhibitions professionals to subsidise their employees or members who wish to participate in MICE‑related certification programmes or examinations. The government will subsidise these employees or association members for a year by up to MOP30,000.
The institutions providing these non-degree training programmes are not restricted to Macau, as the government accepts qualified education units in Asia participating in the scheme.
A total of MOP5 million will be allotted from the Industrial and Commercial Development Fund for the first year of operation of this new subsidy scheme, Macao Economic Services noted.
“Not only the MICE events planning domain is included in these subsidised courses; those involving marketing and promotion, public relations management and contracting works are also covered by the scheme,” the head of conventions, exhibitions and economic activities development department from Macao Economic Services, Mr. Chan Weng Tat, said yesterday at a briefing for interested applicants.

Continuous subsidy

This new support scheme implemented for training MICE professionals is yet another subsidy plan from the government to help boost the conventions and exhibitions industry, as it has previously introduced incentive schemes to subsidise the outlays of event organisers for promotion, transport, accommodation, catering and rent.
Macao Economic Services estimate that a total of MOP100 million will be spent this year supporting the new subsidy scheme for training MICE professionals, as well as for the International Meeting and Trade Fair Support Programme – an incentive scheme implemented in January this year subsidising companies engaged in attracting more international events to Macau.
“So far, we’ve received a total of 18 applications for this incentive scheme, which aims to attract big international events, of which five have already been approved,” Mr. Chan said. “Of these five approved applications, three are conventions and two are exhibitions. Three other cases were rejected because they didn’t meet our requirements.” The government expects MOP21 million will eventually be spent on these five cases.
According to official data released by the Statistics and Census Service, the number of professionals visiting MICE events here for the first half of this year totalled 60,530 individuals, some 183 percent more than a year before.
For the first half, the government subsidised 39 percent of the local exhibition organisers’ expenses at 90.6 million patacas, a bigger subsidy proportion at 16 percent than a year ago.
While the government spends more on the financial support of local MICE companies, exhibition organisers saw their revenue grow 101 percent year-on-year to 87.9 millon patacas for the first six months of this year – an amount still lagging behind the organisers’ expenses at 90.6 million patacas, some 49 percent more than the first half of last year.

Copyright@Macau Business Daily