Macau’s Chief Executive has issued a directive stating that citizens of five Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, will be able to enter Macau without a visa, starting from next month.
The directive from Sam Hou Fai states that citizens of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman will be exempt from visa requirements and pre-entry permits to enter the Macau SAR, with the measures taking effect in 30 days’ time.
This comes amid a concerted effort by the Macau government to target Middle Eastern tourists – part of its broader philosophy of expanding the city’s international tourist base. The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) also participated in the 2025 Arabian Travel Market in Dubai from 28 April to 1 May.
MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes stated at G2E Asia in early May that the agency plans to develop long-haul tourist markets in the Middle East and from Muslim countries this year in collaboration with the Hong Kong tourism industry. The strategy includes connecting passenger itineraries with Beijing and Shanghai to develop multi-destination tours.
Macau has not historically been a major tourism destination for travelers from the Middle East. Although Macau’s Statistics and Census Service does not separately calculate Middle East visitor numbers, arrivals from destinations that exclude mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and East Asia accounted for only 13,477 in 1Q25, representing just 0.1% of the total.
