Macau’s European visitor arrivals recovered to more than 80 percent of 2019 levels from January to October this year, according to Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.
Speaking after the 50th Congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies in Macau, she said the city will intensify efforts to attract more international travelers in 2026.
Senna Fernandes noted that Southeast Asian markets continue to rebound strongly, while Northeast Asia is also showing solid growth. She said the MGTO plans to ramp up international promotions to broaden Macau’s visitor base.
Official data show that Macau recorded 33.1 million visitors from January to October, up 14.4 percent year-on-year, including 2.1 million international tourists, who accounted for 6.5 percent of the total.
According to AGB checks, Southeast Asian arrivals posted the strongest year-on-year increases during the 10-month period: visitors from Vietnam rose 42 percent to 2,823; Thai arrivals grew 31.8 percent to 141,232; and Japanese tourist numbers climbed 25.6 percent to 128,899.
Meanwhile, in the European source markets, Portuguese visitors increased 36.4 percent to 10,337, while Italian visitors rose 22.7 percent to 10,084. The United Kingdom and Germany ranked as the top European source markets, with 33,827 visitors from the UK and 18,012 from Germany during the 10-month period.
In terms of absolute numbers, South Korea remained Macau’s largest international source market, with 434,551 arrivals, followed closely by the Philippines with 427,714.
On the same occasion, Senna Fernandes said that Macau has been selected as the “Ideal Travel Destination 2026” by the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies. She said the city will expand joint promotions next year, including launching online training for industry professionals in English and Spanish.
Macau will also participate in two major European travel fairs and is exploring cooperation with one of Portugal’s largest travel agencies to develop new tourism products and strengthen awareness of Macau among European operators.
