Macau's Lunar New Year tourism remained strong despite a slight dip in arrivals, thanks to a significant improvement in visitor quality and increased engagement with cultural experiences.
Macau's tourism sector demonstrated a "strong" performance during the recent Lunar New Year (LNY) Golden Week, despite a slight decrease in overall visitor arrivals.
Kenny Cheung Kin Chung, president of the Macau Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association, attributed this success to a significant improvement in the quality of visitors, alongside robust hotel occupancy and increased package tour participation.
While preliminary data from the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) indicated a 4.8 percent drop in overall visitor numbers compared to the 2024 LNY, Cheung emphasized the positive shift in visitor demographics. He highlighted a growing interest in Macau's cultural offerings, historical sites, and traditional cuisine, suggesting a move towards more discerning and experience-seeking tourists.
"The quality of visitors has improved in the 2025 LNY holiday," Cheung stated to local media, noting the increased engagement with Macau's cultural heritage.
Despite the overall dip in arrivals, which saw 1.17 million visitors in the first seven days (with mainland Chinese visitors down 6 percent and Hong Kong arrivals down 5.4 percent), hotel occupancy rates averaged over 90 percent, with some properties fully booked. Cheung also pointed to an increase in package tour visitors, particularly those opting for smaller, more specialized itineraries that include in-depth cultural experiences and multi-destination travel.
The LNY holiday period began with a significant drop in visitation during the first three days, but numbers rebounded strongly from January 31st onwards, culminating in a post-COVID record of 219,092 arrivals in a single day.
Cheung identified several key trends, including a wider diversity of visitors (both domestic and international), growth in both short and long-haul tourism, and a greater variety of package tours. However, it was the improvement in visitor quality, marked by a growing appreciation for Macau's cultural richness, that stood out as a key driver of the holiday's "strong" performance. This suggests a positive shift in Macau's tourism market, attracting a more valuable and engaged visitor base.
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