Macau’s February tourism is proving even better than the record-beating figures recorded in January, with an average of 56,208 daily visitors (1st to 19th) and 75.5 percent hotel occupancy (1st to 16th).
The figures come as January beat even the estimates by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), with a daily average of 45,400 visitors (above the 40,000 estimate), and a hotel occupancy rate of 72.8 percent.
During the month, Macau welcomed 1.39 million tourists, a 101 percent yearly increase and 259 percent monthly rise. Of the total, 451,000 visitors came during the Chinese New Year period, a three-fold increase year-on-year.
The tourism body told AGB that it ‘expects visitation from mainland China and Hong Kong to continue to gradually increase this year’, while noting that it is also banking on more tourists from Taiwan and short-haul international markets – as air links gradually return and it continues its promotional efforts and attractions in the city increase.
To fund its various promotional campaigns, the MGTO is laying out some MOP600 million ($74.35 million) throughout the year ‘allocated in diverse activities to boost visitation to the city in all markets’.
The MGTO notes that this includes ‘online and offline promotion initiatives, alongside subsidies for local travel agencies to attract tour groups, as well as special offers’.
The latter includes its ‘buy one, get one free’ airline ticket giveaway – set to comprise some 120,000 flight tickets, as well as hotel vouchers.
While Macau remains focused on its core markets – mainland China and Hong Kong, and to a lesser extent Taiwan, MGTO is also targeting short-haul destinations, especially those with direct flights to Macau – namely Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
However, the tourism office notes that this is merely the ‘first phase’ of its focus, with subsequent plans to reach out to other source markets.
It’s already using e-commerce platforms, social media and KOLs (key opinion leaders), while it plans to increase ‘familiarization trips for travel trade, media and KOLs’ as well as organize tourism operator seminars and ‘high impact roadshows’ – all of which are currently being planned.
Judging by February’s continued upward trend in visitation, third quarter tourism figures should be strong, dispelling doubts that the pent-up demand could dwindle after the initial flurry of activity post-opening-up.
The figures bode well for both gaming and hotel operators as well as the tourism industry as a whole, following three years of struggle due to COVID restrictions.
While experts have told AGB they don’t expect Macau to get close to the nearly-40 million tourist mark recorded in 2019, the year is off to a strong start – with many eyes on Macau to see if it can retake its Asian gaming crown.
One thing is certain: Macau is on its way back.
