Macau recorded 93,253 visitor arrivals yesterday, Easter Eve, almost reaching its pre-COVID-19 daily average pandemic level, or 93.7 percent, according to immigration statistics released by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) today.

In December 2019, Macau's last full pre-pandemic month, the daily average of visitor arrivals stood at 99,465, according to data from the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC). Macau confirmed its first COVID-19 case on January 22, 2020.

At the end of last year, according to the latest official demographics available, Macau's population stood at 672,800. Yesterday's number of visitor arrivals stood at nearly 14 percent of the local population.

As of yesterday, Macau's highest daily post-pandemic number of visitor arrivals stood at 96,011, recorded on March 18.

Most visitors yesterday arrived through the Barrier Gate checkpoint at the Zhuhai-Macau land border (32,542) and the Macau checkpoint at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (29,471), according to local immigration figures.

The Macau Government Tourism Office's(MGTO) "Macao Treat" programme will offer Hong Kong residents and Taiwanese and foreign visitors in Hong Kong who stay for at least one night in Macau a free return trip by bus or ferry ("Stay 1 Night, Get 1 Free Return Ride"). The promotion begins tomorrow and is slated to run through June 30. Hitherto, the promotion was restricted to Hong Kong.

Tourism – mainly casino gambling and shopping (jewellery shops, pharmacies, supermarkets, malls) – is Macau's main breadwinner. Macau is a free port and separate customs territory of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Sightseeing, such as visiting the special administrative region's UNESCO World Heritage sites, and savouring Macau's multi-ethnic cuisine are among its main tourist attractions.