Macau's number of visitor arrivals in the first five days of the Chinese New Year (February 11-15) fell by 71.6 percent to 62,984 compared to the same festival period last year, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) announced today.
According to MGTO data based on statistics provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) which runs the special administrative region's immigration service, mainlanders accounted for 90.8 percent of all visitor arrivals during the five days. Compared to the first five days of last year's Chinese New Year (CNY), the number of mainlanders dropped by 55.0 percent to 57.226.
The mainland's Spring Festival Golden Week last year ran from January 24-30. Macau confirmed its first COVID-19 case on January 22 last year.
The Chinese New Year is officially known as Spring Festival in the mainland.
Among Macau's eight border checkpoints, the Barrier Gate Zhuhai-Macau land-border crossing recorded 37,300 visitor arrivals, or 59.2 percent in the first five days of the Chinese New Year. The checkpoint at the local airport recorded just 4,844 visitor arrivals between last Thursday and yesterday.
Macau's five-day CNY public holiday ended tonight. Traditionally, the CNY festival period lasts for 16 days, running from CNY Eve to the Lantern Festival, which this year falls on February 26.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign nationals without a local residence permit have been barred from entering Macau since March last year. Compatriots from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong are allowed to enter Macau in line with strict novel coronavirus prevention and control measures.
Macau has recorded 48 COVID-19 cases, 46 of which have been classified as imported and two as "connected to imported cases". No COVID-19 fatalities have been reported in Macau.
Observers have described Macau as a COVID-19 "oasis".
