The number of Hong Kong visitors to Macau topped 10,000 for the first time in almost three years on Saturday, continuing a steady climb in visitation since the easing of border restrictions on 8 January.
Representatives of the Hong Kong tourism industry met with their Macau peers on Monday to exchange information on the development of tourism between the two SARs.
At the meeting, the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) presented data showing the number of visitor arrivals for this month up to 15 January. According to the data, the number of Hong Kong visitor arrivals began climbing from 8 January and reached 10,084 on Saturday 14 January.
The MGTO also introduced information pertaining the city’s hotel industry, revealing there are now 142 hotels with a combined 46,506 hotel rooms. This is 16 more than the 126 operating in 2019, with the number of hotel rooms increasing by 13% as a result.
However, the three-year COVID-19 pandemic has led to the closure of 38 travel agencies in Macau, with the number falling from from 226 in 2019 to 188 in 2022. The number of tour guides also decreased from 1,972 to 1,736.
“As the second most visited city in Macau, we hope that Macau will cooperate with Hong Kong travel agencies to jointly launch more tourism products and concessionary packages,” said MGTO Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.
Hong Kong lawmaker and tourism industry representative Perry Yiu Pak-leung added, “Before the outbreak of the pandemic, more than 1 million Macau visitors came to Hong Kong every year, and Hong Kong and Macau have always complemented each other in the tourism industries. Both cities are very popular with mainland Chinese tourists.”
Yiu noted that Macau is a top 10 source market for Hong Kong and that Hong Kong is the second largest source market for Macau, expressing his hope that the SARs can continue to strengthen cooperation to promote tourism development.
Macau’s six concessionaires all sent representatives to introduce their latest facilities to the Hong Kong tourism representatives.
