The business events sector in the Greater Bay Area continues to move ahead at pace and both Hong Kong and Macao are bullish about what 2026 holds, CMW’s Simon George finds out:
The Greater Bay Area initiative, a joint campaign by Hong Kong Tourism Board, Macao Government Tourism Office and the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province to promote business and tourism shows no signs of slowing and suggests the authorities are not resting on their laurels was the clear takeaway from a recent networking lunch hosted by Hong Kong Tourism Board at the Peninsula Hotel in London.
For example, new event venues include the 50,000-seater Kai Tak Stadium built on the site of Hong Kong’s old airport, which opened in March 2025 and which has bookings up until 2027. New hotel openings saw the Kimpton open last September and the Mandarin Oriental is scheduled to open its doors at the end of 2026 after extensive refurbishment.
In terms of improvements to transport infrastructure in the region, Hong Kong International Airport now has a third runway, high-speed rail links have been introduced and road networks have been improved in the Greater Bay Area, which comprises Hong Kong, Macao and the nine cities in Guangdong province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing), all of which will enhance connectivity and accessibility.
Collectively, these developments highlight the authorities’ commitment to increase Hong Kong’s appeal as a vibrant regional economic hub, which can only be good news for the MICE sector. And judging by recent statistics for an important market such as the UK which show that visitor numbers to Hong Kong in January-September 2025 were up 15% year-on-year, it is a strategy that appears to be working.
Positive on 2026
Becky Ip, deputy executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board bried me on the most recent progress being made: “We have never stopped upgrading our infrastructure in the Greater Bay Area. For example, in Hong Kong we are developing AsiaWorld-Expo, Airport City is scheduled to open in two years’ time and the third runway is now operational at Hong Kong International. This year we have been able to host more than 160 conventions and exhibitions in Hong Kong.”
Becky IpShe continued: “We don’t see Hong Kong as a single destination and that’s why we need to build more, even stronger partnerships both with the Greater Bay Area and with other Asian destinations – for example, with Japan, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand through the stopover programme initiative with our home carrier Cathay Pacific. We want to develop Hong Kong both as a leisure destination and as a MICE hub.”
Momentum in Macao
Jennifer Si Tou, deputy director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, echoed the progress being made in Hong Kong in terms of MICE business. In 2026 Macao is targeting 2,000 to 2,500 MICE events, she said, which suggests no let-up in the momentum seen in the first half of 2025, which saw the special administative region host over 900 events, a c.30% year-on-year increase.
To meet the ambitious target, Macao needs more venues and exhibition space (it currently has 240,000sqm), Si Tou noted, pointing out that one way of resolving this issue would be to work with partners in neighbouring cities (i.e. one exhibition, two destinations).
And she agreed with the collective approach strategy: “The concerted efforts of Hong Kong, Macao and the cities in Guandong province mean we are optimistic about the future, not only because of our tourism offering but because of our MICE capability to stage more international events in the region.”
Photo: Courtesy of HKTB
