MGTO expects between 1.4 and 1.5 million tourists over Chinese New Year holiday
The festivities will run from February 15- 23.
Macau.- Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, the director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), expects a daily influx of 158,000 to 175,000 arrivals during this year’s Chinese New Year holiday period from February 15 to 23.
Speaking to the local media, she said Macau is likely to receive between 1.4 and 1.5 million tourists over the nine-day Lunar New Year period. That would surpass last year’s tally of 1.31 million amid a longer holiday period and a 5 per cent yearly increase in Macau’s budget for entertainment.
Events include the Golden Dragon Parade on February 17 and 18, and three large-scale drone and fireworks shows, which will combine pyrotechnics with 3,888 drones overlooking Macau Tower on February 19, February 23 and March 3. There will be six designated viewing areas across the city.
In addition, MGTO will roll out the ZAPE Gallop Gala community event from February 13 to March 1, linking Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day celebrations through installations, promotions and activities aimed at boosting visitor spending in local districts. Online and offline promotional initiatives, including interactive games and lucky draws via MGTO’s WeChat mini-programme will also be launched.
Four hotels in Macau report full occupancy for all nights of the holiday: Emerald Tower and Skylofts at MGM Cotai, operated by MGM China, The Ritz-Carlton Macau, and JW Marriott Hotel Macau at Galaxy Macau.
Hotels sold out for four nights include Grand Lisboa on the Macau peninsula, and The Karl Lagerfeld and Palazzo Versace Macau at SJM Holdings’ Cotai resort, Grand Lisboa Palace, MGM’s MGM Macau on the peninsula and M Tower at MGM Cotai, Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace on Cotai, Melco Resorts’ Cotai properties, Nüwa and Morpheus at City of Dreams and Celebrity Tower and Star Tower at Studio City.
Some hotel brands reported either full occupancy or limited availability for rooms accommodating two adults through late February or early March. These included MGM Macau; MGM Cotai’s M Tower and Emerald Tower; Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace; The Ritz-Carlton, Macau; JW Marriott Hotel Macau; Galaxy Hotel; Raffles at Galaxy Macau; Capella at Galaxy Macau; Hotel Okura Macau; and Banyan Tree Macau.
