Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes told reporters yesterday that MGTO is expecting to see around 500,000 visitors during the four-day 72nd Macau Grand Prix, which will be taking place from today through Sunday.
Senna Fernandes made the remarks after yesterday’s opening ceremony for ART OF RACING Helmet Model Artworks and Riders’ Collection Exhibition at the Macau Grand Prix Museum in Zape.
The veteran tourism chief remarked that MGTO is looking forward to a “very good month of November as well as December” with the Grand Prix and the 15th National Games, which is taking place over a long stretch of time across multiple venues in the city. Senna Fernandes noted that during the National Games’s run, they are expecting, on average, around 100,000 visitors a day entering Macau. “That’s quite a big number, but I think it’s very possible as the Games themselves, especially the ones being held in Macau, are very sought after”, among which are table tennis, basketball and volleyball, Senna Fernandes said. Moreover, the average hotel occupancy rate has been close to 90 percent.
Moreover, Senna Fernandes said that MGTO expects to reach the 39 million visitor benchmark at the end of the year, with the strong results from October being a very good sign.
October’s preliminary figures show that over 3.5 million visitors came to Macau, being “quite a record”, said Senna Fernandes. She further highlighted that quite a lot of foreign visitors also entered the city that month. “We are very, very happy with the results”, she said, highlighting events like the recently concluded CreatorWeek Macao, which invited many creators that will be making posts on their social media platforms, with MGTO looking forward to extending the effect into the future.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes smiles while talking to the media after yesterday’s opening ceremony at the Macau Grand Prix Museum (MGPM) in Zape. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
