Macau recorded 217,000 visitor arrivals yesterday, the third day of the Chinese New Year (CNY), 54,000 more than on the second CNY day, according to official figures announced by the government today.
Compared with the third day of the Chinese New Year in pre-pandemic 2019, yesterday's figure reached 96 percent. Macau recorded its first COVID-19 case in January 2020. The pandemic severely affected the local tourism industry until December 2022.
Yesterday's visitor arrival figure was the highest since Saturday's, when the Year of the Dragon ("Long Nian") began. The figure reached nearly one-third of Macau's population, which stood at 681,300 at the end of the third quarter of last year, according to the latest available demographics.
The number of visitor arrivals on the third day of the Chinese New Year in pre-pandemic 2019 amounted to 226,000.
Tomorrow is the last day of Macau's CNY holiday period. Government offices and banks will reopen on Thursday.
Holidaymakers visit Macau's festively decorated main square, Largo do Senado ("Senate Square") yesterday. - Photo: Carl Leong
