Macau experienced its first yearly drop in visitor arrivals since the January 2023 COVID-19 reopening, with February 2025 seeing just 3,147,184 visitors.
According to the Statistics and Census Service, the figure was a 4.4 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.
Authorities attribute this decline primarily to the significantly higher baseline set in February 2024, which benefited from an extended eight-day Chinese New Year holiday in mainland China.
While overall numbers fell, a closer look reveals a divergence in visitor source trends. Mainland Chinese arrivals saw a 6.4 percent year-over-year decrease, totaling 2,291,662, with Individual Visit Scheme travelers declining by 11.1 percent to 1,331,091. Notably, within this group, 120,002 visitors traveled under the “one trip per week measure,” 30,677 under the “multiple-entry measure,” and 9,262 under the “tourist group multi-entry measure,” reflecting the impact of China’s new visa policies for neighboring cities.
Additionally, visitors from the nine Pearl River Delta cities within the Greater Bay Area decreased by 3.2 percent to 1,122,493. Arrivals from Hong Kong also saw a 4.7 percent drop, reaching 579,843, while those from Taiwan increased by 14.4 percent to 67,951.
Conversely, international visitor numbers showed strong growth, rising by 17.9 percent year-over-year to 207,728. Southeast Asian markets contributed significantly, with Indonesia (14,921), Malaysia (14,480), Thailand (11,261), and Singapore (6,762) experiencing increases of 19.6 percent, 18.1 percent, 25.5 percent, and 25.2 percent, respectively.
The Philippines, however, saw a slight 2.5 percent decrease, with 38,847 visitors. South Asian arrivals from India remained stable at 4,093. Northeast Asian markets also performed well, with visitors from South Korea (59,330) and Japan (14,444) increasing by 41.8 percent and 26.2 percent, respectively. Long-haul markets also saw growth, with US visitors rising by 6.6 percent to 10,561.
Despite the February decline, the first two months of 2025 saw a total of 6,793,745 visitor arrivals, representing a 10.4 percent year-on-year increase.
