Macau visitor arrivals up 16.7% in August

Macau received 3,221,691 visitors during the month.

Macau.- The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) has reported that Macau received 3,221,691 visitors visitors in August. The figure represents an increase of 16.7 per cent when compared to the previous month and is the highest figure since August 2019.

There were 1,653,866 same-day visitors, more than 51 per cent of the total. On average, overnight visitors stayed for 2.2 days, down from 2.3 days in July.

The majority of visitors, 2.32 million or approximately 72 per cent, were from mainland China. Hong Kong and Taiwan contributed 711,684 and 58,104 visitors, respectively. International visitor arrivals accounted for 4 per cent of all arrivals at 129,323.

Macau’s government has been encouraging casino operators to diversify their customer base beyond the Chinese market. Under the tender process for new 10-year gaming concessions, bidders were required to formulate plans and commit to investments aimed at attracting more international customers. Mainland China and Hong Kong constituted nearly 90 per cent of the 39.4 million visitor arrivals in 2019. The government wants international arrivals to reach around 10 per cent of total visitor volume.

In the first eight months of 2023, Macau has reported a 363.1 per cent year-on-year growth in visitor arrivals, totalling nearly 17.63 million. Of these arrivals, 733,588 or 4.2 per cent came from overseas markets.

See also: MGTO expects over 100,000 daily visitors for October Golden Week