Macao welcomed nearly 279,400 visitors over the opening weekend of the Chinese New Year holiday period, according to multiple news outlets, signalling a strong start to one of the city’s busiest tourism seasons.
Yesterday was the first day of the holiday period, with Macao recording 132,428 arrivals, according to police data. Chinese New Year falls on 17 February this year, and the mainland’s nine-day Spring Festival holiday – as Chinese New Year is also called – runs through 23 February.
The Public Security Police did not provide a breakdown of visitors’ places of origin in the latest dataset, but for the first two days of the holiday, most travellers entered via the Border Gate checkpoint (111,494 arrivals), followed by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (54,400) and the Hengqin checkpoint (50,687).
[See more: Hong Kong braces for millions of visitors in Lunar New Year surge]
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has forecast daily arrivals of between 158,000 and 175,000 during the holiday period, with total visitor numbers expected to reach between 1.4 million and 1.5 million over the nine days.
The strong holiday outlook follows a record tourism year in 2025, when Macao recorded 40.06 million visitor arrivals, marking an all-time annual high and a 14.7 percent increase compared with 2024, according to official figures.
Hotel occupancy has climbed sharply ahead of the holiday. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said pre-holiday booking rates had exceeded 80 percent, with final average occupancy expected to surpass 90 percent as peak travel days approach.
The city has rolled out an extensive programme of Chinese New Year festivities, including two large-scale float parades scheduled for 19 February and 28 February in the Sai Van Lake area and the northern district. Around 1,300 performers from Macao, mainland China and overseas will participate, with 17 themed floats featured in the celebrations.
[See more: China ramps up efforts to boost spending in the Lunar New Year holidays]
For the first time, fireworks displays will be integrated with drone performances during selected evening shows overlooking Macau Tower, part of a broader effort to enhance the visitor experience during the holiday period.
Macao’s Chinese New Year break is traditionally one of its most commercially significant weeks, particularly for tourism and gambling. With arrivals already nearing 280,000 in the opening days, the city is tracking toward another busy Golden Week.
