Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, said Monday that visitor arrivals to Macau reached 98,000 last Saturday 15 April, the highest single day visitor tally this year.
Since Macau’s international borders reopened on 8 January the number of visitors has been rising, reaching 96,000 on 18 March, but Lei said a new three-year high had been reached over the past weekend.
“January signaled an important change in that it has given us new opportunities, whereas in the past [the borders were] open and then closed, closed and then open again,” he said.
“Now the number of visitors last Saturday reached 98,000, the highest of the year. The number of visitors [so far this year] has recovered to 58% of 2019 levels.”
Lei noted that a major source of recovery was Hong Kong visitation, aided by the government’s efforts to market to Hong Kong since 8 January.
A total of 39.4 million visitors came to Macau in 2019, of which 7.4 million were from Hong Kong. The average daily visitor tally in 2019 was about 108,000.
“The benefit of Hong Kong visitors coming to Macau is that more Macau small and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from it,” Lei explained.
“Visitors to Macau are also now younger, with a concentration of visitors aged 18 to 35. Rua do Cunha (a famous tourist area in Taipa) is more lively than in 2019, and many people like to visit there.
“So while the last three years have brought change for Macau, they have also brought opportunities.”
