The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) expects the number of Macau’s visitor arrivals to reach up to 40 million in 2025, according to its master plan for the city’s tourism development revealed on Thursday.
The master plan covers expected developments in the tourism sector for the next 15 years. The office announced details of the final version of its Macau Tourism Industry Development Master Plan at a press conference at Macau Tower Thursday. The press conference was hosted by MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.
The office initiated the master plan project in 2015. The plan aims to provide a blueprint for the development of Macau’s tourism industry, according to an MGTO statement.
The office launched a two-month public consultation in 2016 with the aim of drafting a master plan that will meet the needs of the local tourism industry. Following the consultation, the office published a public consultation report in January listing the opinions gathered during the consultation period.
Having collected opinions from tourism experts, government entities, industry operators and professional organisations as well as various segments of civil society over two years, the office released the final version of the master plan, which proposes eight key objectives, 33 strategies and 91 action plans for the short-term, medium-term and long-term implementation on Thursday.
The proposed eight key objectives are to diversify tourism products and experiences; improve service quality and skills; rebrand Macau as a multi-day destination and expand high-value markets; optimise the urban development model; manage Macau’s tourism carrying capacity; utilise innovative technology; enhance tourism industry cooperation; and strenghten Macau’s position as a core tourism city in the regional and international tourism community.
The plan includes two possible scenarios for 2025, based on a projection for total visitor arrivals and a raft of other tourism indicators.
The master plan points out that Macau recorded 30.95 million visitor arrivals last year.
Based on the 2015 figure as baseline for the projection, the plan forecasts the number of visitor arrivals to reach 33 million to 35 million in 2025 based on an annual growth rate of one to two percent (low visitor growth scenario). If the number of visitors grows at an annual rate of three to five percent (modest visitor growth scenario), the number of visitor arrivals is projected to reach 38 million to 40 million in 2025, the master plan says.
According to the master plan, visitors’ non-gaming spending (US$6.6 billion last year) is projected to reach US$13 billion to US$14 billion in 2025 based on the modest growth scenario. The number of hotel rooms (37,634 last year) is projected to reach 51,900 in 2025 based on the modest growth scenario.
