The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said in a statement yesterday that Macau welcomed a total of 182,000 visitors over the National Day “Golden Week” holiday from October 1-7, with 163,000 visitors coming from the mainland.
According to the statement, preliminary statistics showed that average daily visitor arrivals reached 26,000 over the seven-day holiday, an increase of 32.8 percent compared with the average daily figure of September. The second highest single-day record this year, meanwhile, was recorded on October 1 where the city registered over 37,000 visitor arrivals.
The statement noted that the hotel occupancy rate also “went up considerably”, with an average occupancy rate of 66.7 percent among local hotels during the holiday, which was up by 28.1 percentage points compared with the rate last month. The statement added that the occupancy rate on October 2 reached 81.8 percent, the highest among the seven-day holiday.
The visitor figures, the statement said, exceeded expectations and suggest a “gradual restoration of travellers’ confidence” in Macau.
The statement added that MGTO is working on arrangements for the implementation of “preferential measures” for the city. It is also preparing to welcome tour groups and visitors with electronic travel permits, adding that four mainland provinces and one municipality (Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang) are expected to resume the electronic issuance of travel permits to Macau at the end of this month, and subsequently, the gradual resumption of group travel.
Macau will be the first outbound destination for mainland tour groups since COVID-19’s first outbreak, with the statement noting that visitor arrivals were set to “rise to a higher level”. The statement said that MGTO was continuing to discuss work plans on announcement details with travel trade associations such as marketing campaign and implementation scheme arrangements, as well as having discussions on safeguarding work in various areas with different governmental entities.
Members of the public can visit http://www.macaotourism.gov.mo or follow MGTOweixin on WeChat for more details and upcoming events.
This undated handout photo provided by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) yesterday shows visitors in Rua da Cunha.
