Macau Golden Week starts with 169,000 visitors
Macau recorded around 169,000 visitor arrivals on October 1, as Golden Week travel got underway.
Key takeaways:
- Macau recorded around 169,000 inbound visitors on October 1, the first day of mainland China’s Golden Week.
- Border crossings exceeded 706,000 across Macau’s checkpoints and are expected to exceed 800,000 daily on October 3 and 4.
- Room rates are up slightly for peak dates but broadly in line with previous Golden Week holidays.
Macau.- Some 169,000 inbound visitors to Macau were recorded on October 1. The preliminary statistics arrivals through all of Macau’s border checkpoints up to midnight. The Border Gate accounted for the largest share at 82,000. Hengqin followed with over 37,000 visitor arrivals, while more than 21,000 entered through the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau (HZM) Bridge checkpoint and 8,000 via Macau’s airport and 7,000 through the Taipa Ferry Terminal.
Border crossings exceeded 706,000 when including residents and other travellers entering and leaving Macau.
Sands China has reporting limited room availability for the first three days of the holiday. According to Macao Daily News, Sands China executive vice chairman Wilfred Wong said occupancy across the operator’s properties would remain above 90 per cent after October 3.
Wong said room rates had increased slightly on peak holiday dates, although pricing remained broadly in line with previous October Golden Week holidays. Rates are expected to ease once the busiest period of the holiday passes.
Macau is expected to see between 5.2 million and 5.4 million border crossings during mainland China’s National Day Golden Week holiday from October 1 to 7. Authorities forecast an average of 740,000 to 770,000 per day. The busiest days are expected to be October 3 and 4, when the Public Security Police Force (PSP) expects that crossings could exceed 800,000. The Macau Customs Service expects vehicle traffic to peak on October 3. Longer-distance trips are anticipated between October 5 and 6.
