Macao logged around 249,000 inbound visitors during the first two days of this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which runs from 15 to 17 September in mainland China. That’s according to figures from the Public Security Police Force, cited by various media outlets.
The data indicates that on the first day of the festival, Macao welcomed approximately 125,000 visitors, with most of them entering the city via the Border Gate. In total, some 247,000 travellers crossed over Macao’s borders on Sunday.
On the second day of the holiday, around 124,000 visitors descended on the city, with the total number of travellers venturing in and out of Macao totalling 257,000.
The significant number of visitors will no doubt come as welcome news to Macao’s tourism sector, as well as local businesses, especially those in the city’s tourist hotspots. One restaurant operator in Senado Square told TDM that September was normally a quiet period for her establishment, but she was hopeful of a rise in business volume this year.
[See more: Macao will extend park opening hours for the Mid-Autumn Festival]
A food store owner, meanwhile, told the broadcaster that his business had risen by 20 to 30 percent in comparison to regular periods, with customers spending an average of around 300 patacas each. He also noted that there was a noticeable rise in the number of visitors from South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia.
The current visitor figures are in line with the forecasts made by the head of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, Andy Wu Keng Kuong, who expects the daily visitor arrival numbers to reach the 100,000 level and the hotel occupancy rate to be exceptional.
The tourism sector is also looking forward to the National Day holidays, which last from 1 and 7 October – traditionally one of the busiest periods for Macao.
Last year saw the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays being held back-to-back, with Macao recording almost a million visitors or an average of 116,546 visitors per day.
