These are exciting days for Macau and for the Asian conference and incentive market
in general. After several years of construction and huge amounts of planning, the new
look of this destination has finally begun to take shape and the region’s event planners
have taken a liking to what is on offer.
“We are beginning to see a slight change in mindset from clients as Macau receives
positive press, some advertisements communicating Macau as a lifestyle destination and with the introduction of alternative transport links,” says Ben Taylor, managing director, Asia, of Jack
Morton Worldwide.
“The new cutting-edge hotels in Macau are certainly providing serious reason to include
Macau in the venue selection process.”
NEW HOTELS
These new hotels include the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel, which opened in August with 3,000 suites and more than 100,000 sqm of function space; the Crown Macau, which opened in May; and Wynn Macau, which opened last September.
The new openings have breathed life into Macau and have directly led to a rapid increase in new events being held there.
Nortel recently held an incentive programme for 60 of its top salespeople at Wynn Macau, Maserati held a car launch at Macau Tower earlier in the year and the Venetian claims to have signed new business on a daily business, including a conference for 1,200 people from Deloitte last month.
While there is plenty happening on the Cotai Strip, there are other development projects underway too. The Macau Dorsett Development Complex will feature more than 3,000 rooms in InterContinentalbranded hotels. Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 will also open by end of the year with
420 rooms. The City of Dreams, which will have an underwater casino, will also feature
a 1,110-room Grand Hyatt, opening in 2009. The Grand Lisboa, with its lotusinspired
design, is also due to open soon.
1. VENETIAN MACAU
It has only been open a little over two months, yet the Venetian has already forever changed the way regional conference and incentive planners view Macau. Its 3,000 suites and 110,000 sqm of convention and exhibition space is unrivalled in Asia, and the building itself is the second largest non-industrial space in the world.
“Our conference facilities are state of the art,” says Wolfram Diener, Venetian Macau’s
vice-president of conventions and exhibitions. “We offer Las Vegas-style meeting rooms with highly flexible configurations and soundproof walls.”
www.venetianmacao.com
2. MACAU STUDIO CITY
Further along the Cotai Strip, Macau Studio City is shaping up to be the area’s next big
development. For conference and incentive planners, there will be a 4,700-person arena,
a 1,000-room Marriott and a 300-room Ritz-Carlton. For entertainment, there will be
a series of theatre, television and film production studios. A Playboy Mansion has already been announced, with other entertainment facilities still to come, although the first stage of the project won’t be completed until 2009.
www.macaostudiocity.com
3. FINE-DINING OPTIONS
The continuing arrival of new integrated resorts into Macau has injected the SAR with
a huge variety of fine-dining experiences that are set to make a big impression on groups. Crown Macau offers Tenmasa, highquality Japanese, and Aurora, modern French cuisine with a tantalising wine list.
The Grand Lisboa is renowned for its true Italian cooking at Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890, while Wing Lei at Wynn Macau has some of city’s best Cantonese food. It also features nine private dining rooms decked out in fine furnishings and red-themed colours. 4CROWN MACAU
The new 216-room Crown Macau near the Cotai Strip bills itself as a six-star hotel.
The high-quality rooms are certainly at the top end of the best in Asia, as are its
fine-dining options. The hotel lobby is located on the 38th floor and leads to a large
outdoor deck area. One of the main highlights for groups is Kira on level five, a highly styled Japanese restaurant with an outstanding outdoor bar area with big lounges, good music and panoramic views across the skyline of downtown Macau.
www.crown-macau.com
5. WYNN MACAU
Wynn Macau opened in September 2006 and markets itself as offering quality over
quantity. Sharon Lam, project manager at Eventclicks, recently used the hotel for an incentive group from Nortel.
“The 600 guestrooms are spacious and wellappointed and looking out onto the colourful
fountain show, which is choreographed with accompanying music, is very ‘Vegas’.”
Wynn also has one of the more interesting meeting ideas in Macau – the resort can
convert one of its high-end suites into a selfcontained meeting facility for the day.
www.wynnmacau.com
6. NEW PROPERTIES
The Cotai Strip linking the islands of Coloane and Taipa is currently covered in cranes
and construction, building an estimated 20,000 hotel rooms that will all be open
by 2010. There are estimates this could reach as high as 180,000 by 2012. Four Seasons,
St. Regis, Hilton, Shangri-La, Conrad,
Traders and Fairmont hotels are the main brands building there, with the Four Seasons due to open first. Outside of the Venetian, the biggest arrival in the area will be the 4,000-room Sheraton, due to open in early 2009.
7. MACAU FISHERMAN’S
WHARF
Macau Fisherman’s Wharf is a purpose-built themed attraction in the heart of the downtown area. Its artificial volcano and Roman Coliseum can easily be seen from ferries arriving from
Hong Kong, and it is next door to the Sands.
Its outdoor space makes it one of Macau’s best non-hotel venues. Underground there
is a convention space for that can hold 3,000 for a cocktail function as well as a 3,000 sqm
pillarless exhibition space. There is enough banqueting space to hold 1,000 people.
www.fishermanswharf.com.mo
8. MACAU TOWER AND CONVENTION CENTRE
The Macau Tower
Convention and Entertainment Centre is probably Macau’s most identifiable icon. The 338m tower offers a wide variety of incentive experiences that are designed to test and challenge groups on teambuilding programmes. Highlights include the Skywalk X around the outside ring of the tower, the Skyjump down to the ground and the Mast Climb to the tower’s highest point. Inside, there is a 1,800 sqm exhibition and conference space and a 500-seat theatre.
Ferrari recently held a car launch here.
www.macautower.com.mo
9. MGM MACAU
The gold and silver windows of the MGM Macau on the waterfront of downtown Macau have already made it one of the SAR’s most recognisable landmarks.
When it opens next month, the MGM will offer 600 guestrooms and 1,250 sqm of meeting space. One of its main advantages will be its easy accessibility to most of Macau’s central areas, including other hotels, Macau Tower and the ferry terminal.
MGM has already announced expansion plans even before the property has opened.
10. MACAU DOME
The Macau Dome is a purpose-built facility in Taipa that was originally built for the East Asian Games in October 2005.
However the design of the facility lends itself to conferences and events, and there is also
17,000 sqm of exhibition space. The dome’s audiovisual equipment, while being designed
for sports events, can also be easily used for corporate signage. Its main arena can hold
7,000 people and it is easily accessible to properties along the Cotai Strip, making it an
ideal non-hotel venue for teambuilding programmes and sporting events.
11WESTIN RESORT
MACAU
Despite the convergence of new competitors, nowhere in Macau has a better position than the
Westin. Built into the side of a hill and overlooking Hac Sa Beach, every room at the hotel features a private balcony with sea views. The ballroom can hold up to 200 people, but the Westin’s main advantage is its outdoor space – it features a large pool deck for evening cocktail functions and it also adjoins the Macau Golf and Country Club.
www.westin-macau.com
12. MANDARIN
ORIENTAL
The Mandarin Oriental Macau’s location in the main area of the SAR makes it a handy option for smaller-sized business meetings. The 388-room Portuguese-style property is within walking distance of the main downtown locations. The Mandarin Oriental’s largest meeting space is the Chinnery Room, which can hold up to 300 people for a cocktail function. There are also four
breakout rooms on the 17th floor. Mandarin Oriental will also open a second property
next year adjacent to the MGM Grand.
www.mandarinoriental.com/macau
