Macau sets new post-COVID visitor records during Chinese New Year Golden Week, but average daily arrivals fall slightly short of targets.
Macau has witnessed a surge in visitors during the Chinese New Year (CNY) Golden Week, even setting a new post-COVID single-day arrival record of 219,092 on Friday. This surpassed the previous record of 217,451 set on the third day of CNY in 2024. The first five days of the eight-day holiday (January 28th to February 4th) saw a total of 821,016 arrivals. Another 218,367 visitors arrived on Saturday.
However, despite these impressive numbers and new records, the overall average daily visitor count for the initial days of the Golden Week fell slightly short of expectations. Provisional figures from the Public Security Police Force show 873,780 visitor arrivals during the first five days of the Lunar New Year, averaging 174,756 visitors per day. This is below the 185,000 daily average projected by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, before the holiday.
While Friday and Saturday boasted over 218,000 arrivals each, other days saw lower numbers. Arrivals on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were 78,968, 131,856, and 172,733 respectively, contributing to the lower-than-anticipated average. Although the total arrivals during the first five days are substantial, they are still 8.6% below the same period last year due to a slow start to the week.
The composition of visitors also reveals some shifts. Mainland China visitation during the first five days was down 11.3% year-on-year, totaling 606,231. Arrivals from Hong Kong also decreased by 4.4% to 158,191. Despite these decreases, mainland visitors still made up the largest group, accounting for 54% of total border crossings. Macau residents accounted for just under a third of crossings, while foreign passport holders made up less than 4%.
The Border Gate remained the busiest entry point, followed by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Qingmao port. Hotel occupancy during the Golden Week was expected to reach between 90 and 95%, with some luxury properties reportedly sold out.
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