A Macao tourism roadshow visited Tokyo over the weekend, with the aim of boosting the sluggish Japanese market. Last year, there were 75,000 arrivals from Japan – just 25 percent of the 300,000 visitors who came to Macao in 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Tourists from the northeast Asian country made up 10 percent of Macao’s foreign arrivals in 2019 but just 5 percent of the total in 2023.
The roadshow – the first one in Japan from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) since pandemic restrictions were lifted early last year – took place 8-10 March, near the bustling commercial hub of Tokyo Station.
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Air Macau and Macao’s six integrated resorts manned booths showcasing their tourism facilities, latest developments and promotional offers such as discounted flight tickets.
Top Macao officials, including finance secretary Lei Wai Nong and MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes attended the event, along with several Japanese dignitaries.
The government has set aside a 235 million pataca marketing budget to expand Macao’s international tourism markets, with a focus on Southeast and Northeast Asian countries. Other recent tourism promotions have taken place in Portugal and Indonesia, as well as in Malaysia.
