The Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced in a statement that Macau had welcomed 29.67 million visitor arrivals in the first nine months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent.
Same-day visitors (17.27 million) and overnight visitors (12.39 million) rose by 24.9 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Overnight visitors stayed for an average of 2.3 nights, unchanged from the same period last year, according to the statement released on Friday.
Visitors from the Chinese mainland increased by 18.4 percent to 21.57 million in the first three quarters, accounting for 72.7 percent of all arrivals.
Arrivals from China’s Hong Kong (5.47 million) and Taiwan (727,062) regions rose by 1.4 per cent and 16.5 percent, respectively.
International visitor arrivals increased by 12.4 percent to 1.88 million, accounting for 6.3 percent of the total. The Philippines (382,851) and South Korea (382,494) continued to be Macau’s main international visitor segments. The United States (112,330) ranked first among long-haul visitor arrivals.
Some 82.7 percent of visitors in the first nine months arrived by land via the mainland’s Zhuhai City. The remainder arrived by ferry or air.
Last month, visitor arrivals grew by 9.8 percent year-on-year to 2.77 million, a daily average of 92,504.
Macau’s annual visitor arrival record of 39.4 million was reached in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the city in January 2020 and severely impacted local tourism for three consecutive years.
According to the latest available demographics, Macau’s population stood at 685,900 at the end of June
Macau’s main tourist attractions are its integrated resorts, UNESCO-listed World Heritage sites and its multifarious cuisine, tour guides say.
Tourists walk along Macau’s Largo de S. Domingos (“St. Dominic’s Square”) in the city centre on Saturday. – Photo: Terrence Lei
