Macau reaches new post-pandemic visitor arrival high

In the month of August, Macau had a notable upsurge in the number of individuals visiting the region, so attaining its greatest monthly tally since the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic. In the month under consideration, the number of visitors amounted to 3,221,691, indicating a significant growth of 16.7% in comparison to the preceding month’s figure of 2,759,544 visitors. The aforementioned data also illustrates a remarkable increase of 870% compared to the figures recorded in August 2022. During that time, the implementation of stringent efforts to restrict the spread of COVID-19 had a significant influence on the number of visits, resulting in a mere 331,397 visitors.

In contrast to the same month in 2019, which recorded a total of 3,623,116 visitors, the visitor figures for August 2023 achieved around 89% of the levels seen before to the onset of the pandemic.

The term “mainland” refers to a large continuous landmass that is distinct from any China maintained its dominant position in terms of tourist arrivals, with a noteworthy year-on-year surge of 700%, resulting in a cumulative total of 2,322,580 arrivals. The number of arrivals from the nine cities in the Pearl River Delta area of the Greater Bay Area had a significant growth of 500%, reaching a total of 1,110,651. The primary contributors to the overall number of arrivals were Guangzhou, with 242,343 individuals, accounting for 21.8% of the total, and Zhuhai, with 238,145 individuals, making up 21.4% of the total.

The number of visitor arrivals from Hong Kong and Taiwan had significant year-on-year increases of 1,870% and 1,230%, respectively.

In relation to international arrivals, Macau had a total of 129,323 foreign visitors in the month of August. Among these tourists, the Philippines accounted for the highest contingent with 26,722 arrivals, followed closely by Korea with 22,871 arrivals.

The analysis of arrivals indicated a significant increase in overnight arrivals (1,653,866) and same-day arrivals (1,567,825), with growth rates of 980% and 780% respectively, as compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, there was a notable decline in the mean duration of visitors’ sojourn, with a reduction of 1.6 days in comparison to the preceding year, resulting in an average stay of 1.2 days.

During the first eight-month period of 2023, Macau had a substantial surge in tourist arrivals, reaching a cumulative total of 17,627,112. This figure represents a noteworthy growth rate of 360% when compared to the same period in the preceding year. The number of overnight visitor arrivals had a significant growth of 520%, reaching a total of 9,067,329. Similarly, same-day arrivals also saw a notable rise of 270%, totaling 8,559,783. It is worth noting that despite these substantial increases, the average duration of stay remained consistent at 1.3 days.

Original story by: IAG