Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said yesterday that the number of Hong Kong visitors to Macau has recovered to 75 percent of the pre-pandemic level, while mainland visitors are still “less than half” of the numbers in 2019.
Senna Fernandes made the remarks on the sidelines of a Shenzhen tourism promotion activity yesterday afternoon at Galaxy Macau’s Banyan Tree hotel
She pointed out that Taiwanese and foreign visitors have only recovered to 20 percent or less of their pre-pandemic levels so far, which she said was mainly due to the fact that passenger flights to Macau have not yet fully resumed.
As for next month’s Easter holiday, Senna Fernandes said that no specific forecast has been made yet, but based on recent visitor arrivals, which is 50,000 a day, she hoped that the Easter period will see a daily average of 60,000 visitors.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Macau recorded up to 100,000 visitor arrivals a day.
Senna Fernandes noted that Easter is not a mainland holiday, so the visitor source during that holiday would mostly be concentrated on Hong Kong, but with the stimulus of the long weekend holiday, it was hoped that the number of visitors would be better than that of normal weekdays. As for hotel occupancy, the recent average occupancy rate is 75 percent, Senna Fernandes said, adding she hoped to reach 80 to 90 percent during Easter.
Senna Fernandes also said that in the past, the focus of tourism promotions was on the mainland and Hong Kong, but in the future the government would explore overseas markets.
As for overseas group tour offers, Senna Fernandes said she hoped that her bureau could offer the discounts after Easter, mainly targeting overseas visitors coming to Macau via Hong Kong, offering discounts on ferry and bus tickets to boost the number of visitors after the festive period.
Macau’s Easter public holiday runs from April 7 (Good Friday) through April 10 (Easter Monday).
Senna Fernandes talks to reporters on the sidelines of a Shenzhen tourism promotion activity yesterday afternoon at Galaxy Macau’s Banyan Tree Macau hotel in Cotai. – Photo courtesy of TDM
