Some 1.11 million visitors entered Macao during the National Day holiday period between 29 September and 6 October, according to police data cited by various media outlets. This figure equates to a daily average of around 138,000 visitors and is on par with the revised forecast from the Macao Government Tourism Office, which put the figure at “above 130,000.”
In total, there were 2.21 million inbound and outbound trips recorded during the eight day period, with a majority taking place at the Border Gate, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Hengqin Port.
Visitor arrivals reached a peak of more than 174,000 visitors on 4 October, a new single-day high for the National Day holidays, which are dubbed “golden week” on the Chinese mainland.
[See more: Macao smashes ‘golden week’ single-day visitor record again]
The hotel sector benefited from the influx of tourists, with the Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association announcing at a press conference yesterday that the hotel occupancy rate during the recent holiday period hit 95 percent. The average rates for rooms, meanwhile, were on par with 2019 levels during the same period.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also reaped the rewards from the increased tourism, although the chairman of the Federal General Commercial Association of Macau SMEs, Andy Wu, noted that not all businesses were able to drive their transaction volumes back to pre pandemic levels.
He advised local businesses to adapt to the changing needs of visitors. “It’s important for SMEs to figure out how to cater to young customers [who have greater spending power],” Wu pointed out.
