Macau welcomes over 22 million visitors through end of October

The Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes reported that Macau had received more than 22.72 million visitors by the end of October, or an average of 75,000 arrivals per day.

According to the data, tourist arrivals increased by 68% in comparison to the corresponding period in 2019, which occurred prior to the outbreak of the epidemic. Notwithstanding the disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the director of the MGTO deems this rate of recovery to be “satisfactory.”

A total of 2.79 million visits are anticipated for the entire month of October, according to preliminary data; however, official statistics are still pending. Macau received an approximate total of 19.93 million visitors during the initial nine months of the current year.

The October results were substantially impacted by the autumn Golden Week vacation period in mainland China, which included the Mid-Autumn Festival and China’s National Day celebrations on October 1.

International travel funding could account for a maximum of MOP235 million (approximately US$29.2 million) of the 2024 budget proposed by the Macau government. On this subject, the Legislative Assembly will deliberate. Although the government’s primary objective is to attract travelers from Northeast and Southeast Asia, the public has not been informed of how the funds would be spent to achieve this.

Since January, when travel restrictions were eased in response to the pandemic, the Macau government has encouraged visits to mainland China and specific international markets. As part of the marketing campaigns for this year, hotel accommodations and airline reservations have been discounted in an effort to entice mainland Chinese travelers to return and attract international visitors.

Based on data from the Statistics and Census Service of Macau, a mere 4.3% of the 19.93 million visitors that visited the island during the initial nine months of this year were non-Chinese citizens or residents of the “Greater China” markets (Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China).

Original story by: GGRAsia