Macao welcomed just over 604,000 visitors during the extended Labour Day break, according to official figures cited in multiple media reports.
The daily average stood at around 121,000, or less than the 130,000 figure forecast by tourism officials.
It is likely that bad weather played a part in this year’s less than expected arrival figures, with rain and gusty conditions occurring throughout the Labour Day break. The rain was particularly severe on Saturday, when the year’s first black rainstorm warning was issued.
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However, the total number of entries and exits made at all of Macao’s border checkpoints rose 11.6 percent year-on-year to 2.43 million.
The total visitor numbers recorded between 1 and 5 May also represents nearly 85 percent of the comparable figure from 2019 – the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic put a brake on travel.
While Labour Day is a single-day holiday in Macao, it is a three-day break on the Chinese mainland – Macao’s biggest source of visitors. When added to the weekend, it creates a five-day vacation for mainland Chinese travellers.
