Macau in top 10 travel destinations for China and Hong Kong

Macau came in at eighth place among mainland Chinese in a survey of destinations being considered for travel.

Macau.- The financial services company Visa has shared the results of a survey that identifies Macau as one of the top 10 destinations that tourists from mainland China and Hong Kong are considering for travel. Food and dining was cited as the top reason for visiting Macau, followed by entertainment.

Macau comes in eighth place for mainland Chinese respondents and seventh for respondents in Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese chose France as their preferred destination, with Hong Kong in third place. Respondents from Hong Kong most chose Japan, with China second.

The study, Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 4.0: Travel Consumption Insights – Macau, indicates that Macau was well-positioned to capitalise on the opportunities arising from the revival of tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. 

Some 70 per cent of respondents expressed interest in multi-destination trips within the Greater Bay Area, with 77 per cent of mainland Chinese and 55 per cent of Hong Kong respondents noting a preference for a trip duration of six days or more.

Macau’s local government had expressed a policy aspiration of bringing in more foreign visitors to the city’s casinos due to the Chinese government’s strict travel restrictions during the pandemic. However, the recent relaxation of Covid-19 measures in both China and Macau has resulted in a rebound of tourism, with Macau receiving tour groups from the Chinese mainland starting this month.

During the Chinese New year holiday, Macau received 451,047 visitors. The number surpassed expectations and represented a three-fold increase from last year but was 38 per cent lower than in pre-pandemic 2019. Macau casino gross gaming revenue rebounded in January and has remained steady in the first 12 days of February, according to investment analysts.