Macau recorded 28.23 million visitor arrivals last year, a daily average of 77,000, accounting for 70 percent of pre-pandemic 2019, according to preliminary statistics released by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) today.
Last year's preliminary visitor arrival figure was up by about 395 percent compared to 2022.
According to an MGTO statement released by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS), Macau recorded 175,030 visitor arrivals yesterday, New Year's Eve, a new post-pandemic record.
Macau's tourism industry, including the gaming sector, was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic between early 2020 and late 2022. The local government began to gradually ease pandemic-related travel curbs at the beginning of last year.
Due to the COVID-19 impact, Macau recorded a mere 5.7 million visitor arrivals in 2022. In pre-pandemic 2019, the number of visitor arrivals reached 39.4 million, according to Macau Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) data. Based on the preliminary visitor arrival figure of 28.23 million released by MGTO today, the local tourism sector reached last year about 72 percent of the visitor arrival figure recorded in 2019.
Meanwhile, according to the MGTO statement, Macau recorded 11,258 "international" visitors, i.e., those from foreign countries and regions, on Saturday, the highest post-pandemic daily figure, which reached 93 percent of the highest daily figure of 12,104 logged in pre-pandemic December 2019.
The statement also revealed that MGTO hosted more than 300 online influencers last year to promote Macau's tourist attractions.
