Roughly 9 million visitors entered Macao in the first three months of this year, an increase of almost 80 percent year-on-year, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) announced in a statement this morning.
On average, a daily total of nearly 98,000 visitors set foot in the city over the quarter, a recovery of nearly 85 percent in comparison to the corresponding figure from pre-pandemic 2019.
The most visitor arrivals were recorded on 12 February (the third day of the Lunar New Year), which saw a total of almost 220,000 visitor arrivals – the second highest single-day figure on record.
Overall, February registered the highest daily rate of visitors, with an average of approximately 114,000.
[See more: Over a million tourists visited Macao during the Easter and Ching Ming holidays]
There were 6.3 million mainland Chinese tourists during the first quarter (almost 84 percent of the 2019 figure). Hong Kong and Taiwan visitors reached totals of 1.82 million and 182,000 respectively, while international travellers stood at 585,000 people, a recovery of almost 68 percent in relation to the number from the first three months of 2019.
MGTO chief Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said that based on the results, she was confident that the government would reach its target of 2 million overseas visitors this year.
For the upcoming Labour Day “golden week” holiday, which is a five-day break on the Chinese mainland, Senna Fernandes said she expected an average of 130,000 visitors per day – higher than the rates registered during the Ching Ming and Easter holiday period last month.
Figures for the hotel sector were also strong, with the room occupancy rate for the first two months of this year reaching an average of around 86 percent.
