Macau expects 50k daily tourists during Chinese New Year

The Macau government expects to recover during the upcoming holiday.

Macau.- The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is expecting 40,000 to 50,000 daily arrivals during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday, which begins on Sunday, January 22 and ends on Sunday, February 5. In 2019, pre-pandemic, they registered about 170,000 visitors per day during that break.

The reservation rate of Macau’s hotels for the Chinese New Year holiday period currently stands between just 30 and 50 per cent. Acting Director Cheng Wai Tong said that figure is expected to rise over the next two weeks: “There is still some time before the Chinese New Year holidays and the booking rate is expected to increase,” Cheng said. In 2022, the hotel occupancy rate was around 63 per cent, compared with 93 per cent in 2019. 

“The MGTO expects about 40,000 to 50,000 visitors per day during the Chinese New Year holidays, but the number is not comparable to the 170,000 visitors per day during the same period in 2019, as the traffic to Macau has not yet fully recovered,” Cheng explained.

“The MGTO has also received feedback from the hotel industry and is communicating with the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) to find ways to replenish the hotel industry’s manpower in the near future,” Cheng said.

From Sunday, January 8, most of Macau’s travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic came to an end and ferry services from Hong Kong were resumed after three years. 

Hong Kong is Macau’s second-largest market. This week, the MGTO launched a new promotional campaign to encourage greater visitation from Hong Kong. Starting from January 13 until March 31, Hong Kong residents purchasing a Macau-bound ferry or bus ticket via TurboJET, Cotai Water Jet, and the Hong Kong-Macao Express and staying at least one night in Macau will be offered a complimentary return ticket.  

The average daily visitation during the three-day period from January 8 to January 10 topped 36,000, while ferry services brought in 6,074 tourists at the Taipa terminal. 

Macau saw a total of 39,643 visitor arrivals on Sunday (January 8), followed by a total of 35,479 visitors on Monday (January 9). Figures from the police showed that on Tuesday (January 10) the city welcomed 34,264 visitors. About 18,200 of Tuesday’s visitors entered Macau via the Border Gate land crossing with neighbouring Zhuhai, Guangdong province.

In the period running from Sunday (January 8) to Tuesday (January 10), Macau recorded a total of 109,386 visitor arrivals.