With this year’s tourism peak season coming, Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes told reporters after yesterday’s award ceremony for the “Youth Diplomats Model United Nations (MUN)” two-day training programme at the private Macau Millenium College in Nape, that as August is the peak season for Macau’s tourism, she was expecting the sector’s hotel occupancy rate to be close to 90 percent in August, with weekends likely sold out.
Senna Fernandes noted that so far the number of average daily visitor arrivals this month has exceeded June’s levels, with last week’s daily visitor arrivals surpassing 90,000. She also said that the overall performance this month was projected to outpace June, adding that MGTO has “prepared well” for the upcoming peak tourist season.
Asked by the media about the recent sale of The 13 Hotel in Cotai, Senna Fernandes responded that the property was undergoing its final transition to a new management, with plans to introduce new restaurants and forge strategic partnerships. She also said that MGTO was overseeing compliance during the “handover”.
Macau’s veteran tourism chief also said that a five-star luxury hotel was projected to open as early as in the fourth quarter of this year, while another hotel was scheduled to open next year, though the exact timeline remained subject to construction progress and licensing approvals.
At the end of May, there were 147 hotels with a total of 45,000 guestrooms.
According to previous media reports, The 13 Hotel opened in 2018 and ceased operations in mid-February 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic; it then resumed limited operations in 2024.
Its operating licence is valid until the end of this year. Recently, the hotel was reportedly sold to a local businessman for HK$600 million. The identity of the businessman has still not be revealed.
Meanwhile, Senna Fernandes pointed out that South Korea is currently Macau’s top source of foreign visitors, with Thailand also contributing to significant tour group arrivals, adding that MGTO has been stepping up promotional efforts both online and offline, collaborating with local travel agencies to attract more group and independent travellers from both countries, with cross-border mobile payment partnerships being promoted, enabling Thai nationals to use their country’s e-wallets for direct spending in Macau to boost tourist spending here.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes poses before speaking to reporters after yesterday’s awards ceremony for the “Youth Diplomats Model United Nations (MUN)” training programme at the Macau Millenium College in Nape. – Photo: Ida Cheong
