The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is hoping for international visitor arrivals to breach the three million benchmark this year, which would be a year-on-year growth of at least 8.9 percent, aiming for an average annual growth rate of 5.0 percent or more in the years following, MGTO Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong told reporters on the sidelines of the G2E Asia + Asian IR Expo 2026 opening ceremony at The Venetian Macao yesterday.
In the decade preceding the COVID-19 crisis, which severely affected the local tourism industry between 2020 and 2022, around three million international visitor arrivals was the norm.
Customarily, Macau’s biggest visitor segment combined originates from the Chinese mainland, the Hong Kong SAR and China’s Taiwan region.
In February, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said that the government this year expects the number of visitors to reach 41 million, which would be a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent. Regarding the number of foreign visitors last year, Cheng pointed out that they exceeded 2.7 million.
In terms of efforts towards diversifying visitor sources, Cheng said that MGTO has always pursued the diversification of visitor sources, having invested more on international promotion while adding that there has been an upwards trend in international visitors compared to last year.
While previous efforts had mainly focused on Southeast and Northeast Asia, Cheng said that promotional efforts have this year gradually expanded to Europe, having recently completed a roadshow in Spain. He noted while there were plans to develop the Middle Eastern source market, given the current situation, it still needed to be monitored. He added that MGTO will also explore other markets such as Central Asia and India.
Cheng also said that the government was exploring more ways to attract international visitors arriving at or visiting Hong Kong or other destionations in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), as well as major aviation hubs in the Chinese mainland like Beijing and Shanghai.
Moreover, with rising international fuel prices and the cancellation or reduction of flights worldwide, Cheng said that the government was closely monitoring the situation and would evaluate what it could do to support the aviation industry, all still being under evaluation.
MGTO Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong speaks with reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s opening ceremony of the G2E + Asian IR Expo at The Venetian Macao in Cotai. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
