Has the tourism recovery already peaked? Figures showing another straight month of decline pose tough questions for the sector.
Macao visitors
The number is less than 60 percent of the total number of visitors recorded during the first half of 2019, before the pandemic hit.
There were no significant increases in the total number of guests, average lengths of stay or the proportion of guests from long-haul destinations.
The strong performance over the four-day period will help to make up for a disappointing May, when tourist volumes fell.
The return of tourists comes as a huge relief for Macao’s retail sector, which posted big sales increases in the first quarter of this year.
Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan remain the biggest source of visitors, but overnight visitors are staying for shorter periods, the latest figures show.
Mainland Chinese are the biggest spenders, followed by tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong, with shopping topping the expenditure list.
The average daily totals easily exceeded government estimates for the five-day ‘golden week’ period and point to the continued recovery of the tourism sector.
The extended Labour Day break is the first long holiday in mainland China since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.
