Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said on Thursday that she expected the number of “international” tourists to rise by 10 per cent this year.
Senna Fernandes also said that the total number of tourists rose slightly year-on-year during the first six months of this year.
According to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC), the number of visitor arrivals rose 0.1 per cent year-on-year to 14.76 million in the first half of the year.
Senna Fernandes made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a press conference about the 4th Macau International Travel (Industry) Expo, at the Tourism Activities Centre (CAT) in Zape.
Senna Fernandes used the term “international” tourists to refer to the city’s segment of non-mainland visitors, meaning that Macau’s “international” tourists include tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Senna Fernandes also said that the ratio of mainland tourists dipped slightly during the first six months, adding that the number of non-mainland tourists recorded a seven percent increase in the same period.
According to DSEC figures, visitors from the mainland (9.7 million) and Hong Kong (3.05 million) decreased by 0.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent in the first half of the year.
Senna Fernandes underlined a rise in the number of tourists from countries and territories such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan. She attributed the increase to the government having promoted Macau as a tourist destination more often in these countries and territories.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
