Macau’s international visitor arrivals have already recovered to 68.2 percent of 2019 levels, with 584,026 foreign tourists received in the first quarter of 2024. The Philippines led the charge, with over 114K tourists.
According to data from the territory’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), the Philippines is the top source market, with 114,625 tourists arriving in Macau in the first quarter, representing a 23.7 percent increase over the same period in 2019. However, the proximity of Macau to Hong Kong may have contributed to this result, with a large number of Filipino overseas workers in Hong Kong.
The number of visitors from Malaysia reached 39,839, returning to 70.8 percent of the 2019 first-quarter figure, while the numbers of visitors from Indonesia (39,294) and Thailand (38,638) both rebounded to 89.2 percent of their respective levels.
The data also show that in Northeast Asian markets, the numbers of visitors from South Korea and Japan have lagged behind, with Macau only receiving 129,519 Koreans and 36,129 Japanese in the quarter, representing 49.4 percent and 40.6 percent, respectively, compared to pre-COVID levels.
As for long-haul markets, visitors from the USA (33,383) rebounded to 66.5 percent of the 2019 first-quarter level.
Overall, Macau’s visitor arrivals soared by 79.4 percent year-on-year to 8,875,757 in the first quarter of 2024, recovering to 85.7 percent of the figure in the same quarter of 2019.
Macau Tourism Office launches overseas campaign in Singapore
The Macau Tourism Office is intensifying its efforts to attract more international visitors by launching a major roadshow in foreign countries, aiming to welcome over 2 million international visitors this year.
On Monday, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) announced the commencement of a new campaign in Singapore, scheduled to start this Thursday, April 25th.
According to the MGTO, Singapore currently ranks as the eighth-largest international visitor market for Macau. In the first quarter of 2024, Macao welcomed 25,623 visitors from Singapore.
The average daily volume of Singaporean visitors has rebounded to 82.6 percent of the levels seen in the first quarter of 2019, marking a 263.1 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. Presently, two airlines, Air Macau and Scoot, offer regular direct flights between Macau and Singapore, with two flights per day.
The mega roadshow in Singapore will be held at the Suntec City Atrium (Convention Centre) from April 25th to 28th.
The MGTO reports that the number of international visitor arrivals represents an average daily volume of about 6,400 (6,424), which is more than triple the figures from the first quarter of 2023, but only 67.5 percent of the levels seen in the first quarter of 2019.
Macau’s gaming operators have been mandated to increase their percentage of international visitors, as well as punters, in a bid to not only increase mass gaming but also change the percentage of mainland Chinese punters.
The move has resulted in numerous roadshows by the government, accompanied by representatives of the six gaming operators, as well as private sector initiatives to increase exposure by putting in place or increasing overseas marketing teams.
