The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) says that current international visitation is “slightly below” its expectations, seeing just 2% year-on-year growth to the number of foreign arrivals in July although rising to about 10% growth in the first half of August.
The MGTO’s Deputy Director, Cheng Wai Tong, highlighted over the weekend that the initial projections were drawn up at the beginning of the year, adding, “We already expected impacts on flights, due to fuel prices and the knock-on effects.”
The official pointed to the cancellation of routes and reduction in flight numbers, Cheng struck a positive tone, however, noting that for July and August, compared with the same period last year, “Growth has been maintained and is relatively stable.”
While July visitor arrival numbers are not due for release by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) until Friday, earlier data from the agency shows that 1H26 visitor arrivals were up 9% to 20.9 million. International visitors during the six-month period totaled 1.42 million, up by 6% year-on-year, with a 51.4% surge in visitors from Thailand to 122,494 and a 1.2% drop in visitors from the Philippines to 270,441.
At G2E Asia in May, Cheng lamented that the rise in fuel prices would cause a drop in travel worldwide while insisting that the MGTO and other government departments “attach great importance” to the issue.
Despite the downturn due to global uncertainty, the Macau government is doubling down on its non-gaming economic contributions with a push to actively expand its international visitor source markets, alongside key diversification initiatives – namely in infrastructure and encompassing neighboring Hengqin.
Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai recently published an article pledging some MOP$130 billion (US$16.1 billion) in investment over the next five years, aiming to shift the contribution of non-gaming sectors up to 60% of Macau’s GDP by 2030.
