Macao residents accounted for 53 per cent of local hotels’ guests last month, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) said in a statement Friday.
According to the statement, 81,000 of the hotel sector’s 152,000 guests in July were local residents. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in many tourist destinations, staycations have been become popular among locals.
Guests from the mainland (55,000) and Hong Kong (11,000) both fell over 90 per cent year-on-year last month.
At the end of July, Macao had 114 hotels and guesthouses, down by five from a year earlier. The number of guestrooms decreased 9.3 per cent to 35,000.
In the first seven months of the year, the number of guests fell 75.5 per cent to 1.98 million.
No tour groups visited Macao last month, the statement pointed out.
Only 200 residents used the services of local travel agencies for outbound travel in July, according to the statement.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, foreign nationals who do not hold a local residence permit have been barred from Macao since early this year.
There have been special entry regulations for mainlanders, Taiwanese and Hongkongers – who in line with Macao’s “One China” policy are regarded as compatriots – since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
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