Mainland China’s five-day May Day “Golden Week” will begin on Friday. Macau authorities estimate that total inbound and outbound border crossings in Macau will reach about 3.6 million to 3.7 million over the period, with average daily crossings of 720,000 to 740,000.
In 2026, the May Day Labor Day holiday in mainland China runs from 1 to 5 May. It is one of the mainland’s major annual long holidays. Macau authorities held a joint press conference on Tuesday morning to brief the public on specific arrangements for the May Day Golden Week.
The Public Security Police Force expects total border crossings during this year’s May Day holiday to be similar to 2025. Saturday 2 May is projected to be the peak day, with crossings reaching about 850,000, including between 210,000 and 220,000 visitors.
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) noted that it is actively preparing on multiple fronts to welcome visitors during the holiday, including promotion through various channels. Regarding hotel bookings, authorities said current reservations are in good shape and they expect bookings to continue rising as the holiday approaches.
The 2025 May Day Labor Day holiday also lasted five days and recorded a total of 850,034 visitors, averaging 170,000 visitors per day. On 2 May 2025, there were 221,968 visitor arrivals to Macau, setting what was then the highest single-day post-pandemic visitor arrival figure.
Macau’s current record for the highest number of inbound visitors in a single day was set on the third day of the Lunar New Year Golden Week this year on 19 February, when 227,943 visitors entered Macau.
