Airfares account for half of Macau tourism discounts

The MGTO has already distributed 250,000 discounts for international travellers.

Macau.- The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has said that nearly half of its promotional travel offers this year will take the form of flight discounts. It said that since January, it has already distributed 250,000 discounts to attract international travellers, 49 per cent of which was on flights.

Collaborating with airlines such as Air Macau, the MGTO offers various discounts and promotional deals, including “buy-one-get-one-free” offers, to eligible travellers. These incentives often require travellers to stay in Macau for a specified duration.

Meanwhile, 46 per cent of discounts involved providing free bus or ferry tickets for international travellers arriving via Hong Kong International Airport. The remaining 5 per cent of MGTO’s promotional incentives were allocated to travel packages, which can include discounts on restaurant meals, show tickets, or hotel stays.

Intending to diversify visitor sources, MGTO’s efforts focus on attracting travellers from markets such as Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, and North America. 

The Statistics and Census Service reported that 2.86 million people visited Macau in January. The figure was up 104.7 per cent in year-on-year terms but down 2.8 per cent when compared to the previous month. 

Visitors from Hong Kong were up 53 per cent (546,277) year-on-year and up 102.3 per cent when compared to 2019. The number of international visitors, excluding those from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, reached 199,278. This represents about 66.4 per cent of the figure recorded in the same month of 2019.