By the end of the second quarter, Macau’s tourism authorities had introduced over 70,000 discounted flight tickets in a bid to attract international tourists and boost overseas arrivals.
This initiative follows the Macau government’s allocation of MOP235 million ($29.36 million) to support tourism recovery and increase international visitation.
In response to an inquiry from legislator Ngan Iek Hang about the government’s efforts to draw in foreign tourists, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) explained that the discounted tickets were offered through partnerships with Air Macau, the city’s primary airline, as well as other international carriers.
In collaboration with Air Macau, they launched discounted tickets, buy-one-get-one-free promotions, and multi-destination flight offers for international travelers. They also partnered with various airlines to provide limited-time promotions for travelers from Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, and North America.
These airfare deals are part of a broader strategy to revitalize international tourism to Macau. The MOP235 million budget has been used to offer not only flight discounts but also deals on cross-border transportation between Macau and Hong Kong, hotel stays, dining, entertainment, and show tickets.
The MGTO also collaborated with bus and ferry operators to provide free rides for international tourists traveling from Hong Kong to Macau, benefiting more than 100,000 visitors by the second quarter of the year.
In addition, by the end of June, over 50,000 international visitors had taken advantage of special offers available through online and traditional travel agencies, as well as e-commerce platforms.
Preliminary data indicate that Macau welcomed 25.94 million visitors in the first nine months of the year, a 30.2 percent year-on-year increase, representing 85.9 percent of the pre-COVID visitor volume in 2019. Of these, nearly 1.68 million were international tourists, marking a 95.2 percent year-on-year increase. However, this figure still represents only 70.8 percent of the international visitor numbers recorded during the same period in 2019.
The MGTO has set a target of 2 million foreign arrivals by year-end.
In addition to these promotions, the MGTO emphasized the success of travel roadshows held from March to July in six key overseas markets: Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia. These events attracted over 880,000 attendees and engaged 870 travel industry operators.
To further boost tourism, the MGTO has pledged to expand efforts both domestically and internationally. Through comprehensive promotional activities, including online and offline advertising, participation in international travel expos, roadshows, seminars, and familiarization trips, they aim to elevate Macau’s tourism profile and accelerate the recovery of the industry.
