In the Pearl River Delta’s battle for tourists, Hong Kong has always reigned. That could change in the next few years if recent data trends are anything to go by, with Macao’s tourism numbers appearing to be on track to overtake those of its neighbour across the estuary.
In a comparison of official figures, the differences in visitor numbers between the two SARs is shrinking dramatically. In 2018, for example, Macao recorded a total of 35.8 million visitors, while Hong Kong registered 65 million – a difference of 29.2 million visitors in Hong Kong’s favour.
In 2019 – the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic hit – the difference was 16.6 million, with Macao’s visitor numbers rising to 39.4 million and Hong Kong’s figures dropping to 56 million.
In post-pandemic 2023, provisional data from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) shows that 28.23 million people visited Macao. By comparison, Hong Kong welcomed just 34 million visitors last year, meaning that the difference has shrunk to just 5.77 million in five years.
[See more: Macao is mainland China’s preferred travel destination, new data claims]
While both territories recorded a decline in tourism numbers compared to 2019, Macao’s post-pandemic recovery was significantly stronger compared to Hong Kong’s. The city’s total arrivals in 2023 are 70 percent of its pre-pandemic numbers, whereas Hong Kong’s figure is only half of its 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, mainland Chinese tourists – by far the region’s biggest source of travellers – have shown a marked preference for Macao over Hong Kong, according to the Chinese government’s China Tourism Academy.
The research institution published a report last year that found Macao had twice the amount of mainland Chinese travellers compared to Hong Kong during the first half of 2023.
Macao is expected to welcome 36 million visitors in 2024, according to one estimate, comfortably exceeding Hong Kong’s total for 2023.
