Macau recorded 100,000 visitor arrivals in the seven days from 20 to 26 August at an average of 14,737 visitors per day – representing an increase of 18% compared to the previous week according to the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). The city had recorded an average 12,485 visitor arrivals in the seven days prior.
There were also 18,000 visitors last Saturday 27 August – the highest daily tally of the month although still well below the nearly 108,000 visitors who arrived each day in 2019. Daily visitation had plummeted to just 315 people in July due to Macau’s recent COVID-19 outbreak but has improved since quarantine free travel to Zhuhai was restored earlier this month.
Last week’s rising numbers come as the MGTO revealed it would launch its latest “Macau Week” travel promotion campaign in mainland China to attract inbound tourists, starting on 8 September.
The first stop of the five-day campaign will be Qingdao.
“We hope to attract mainland visitors to spend money in Macau during the National Day Golden Week and promote the recovery of the tourism economy,” the MGTO said.
‘Macau Week’ is a large-scale street exhibition and will see all six Macau concessionaires set up booths on site, alongside other tourism operators.
However, many regions in mainland China are still facing pandemic-related setbacks and it is hard to see tourist numbers return to anything like pre-COVID levels as long as there are restrictions on travel visas and the operation of tour groups to Macau.
Deputy Director of MGTO, Cheng Wai Tong, told reporters on Sunday, “The MGTO is concerned about the restrictions on self-guided tour and tour groups. We will collect relevant information and report the situation to the Chinese Central Government on a regular basis, so as to strive for the gradual relaxation of travel applications to Macau from the Mainland.”
