Macau’s visitor arrivals from the ten cities recently added to the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) saw a 17.1 percent increase in August compared to the same month last year.
These cities contributed 45,599 visitors, demonstrating the positive impact of their inclusion in the scheme.
Of these visitors, 51.9 percent (23,652) traveled under the IVS, reflecting strong interest in the scheme’s expanded scope. The rise in arrivals from these new cities played a crucial role in boosting overall visitor numbers during the busy summer season.
According to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Macau welcomed 3,651,731 visitors in August 2024, setting a new monthly record. This represents a 13.3 percent increase year-on-year and a slight rise of 0.8 percent compared to August 2019, before the pandemic. Month-on-month, arrivals grew by 20.9 percent, underscoring the significant recovery of Macau’s tourism sector during the summer holiday.
Visitors from mainland China surged by 18.5 percent year-on-year, totaling 2,752,322 in August. Notably, those traveling under the IVS reached 1,466,190, marking a 9.3 percent increase.
Visitor arrivals from Hong Kong decreased by 6.8 percent year-on-year to 663,449, while visitors from Taiwan experienced a notable increase of 26.7 percent, reaching 73,629.
Comparatively, the number of mainland Chinese visitors in August 2024 was 4 percent higher than in August 2019, with Hong Kong and Taiwan visitor levels rebounding to 99.6 percent and 77.3 percent, respectively, of their pre-pandemic figures.
International visitors return to 75.3% of the 2019 level
International visitors also showed positive trends, rising 25.5 percent year-on-year to 162,331 in August. This figure represents 75.3 percent of the 2019 level, reflecting a steady recovery in long-haul and regional markets.
In Southeast Asia, arrivals from the Philippines (35,180) surged by 31.7 percent, while visitors from Malaysia (7,647) and Singapore (5,806) saw modest growth. However, arrivals from Indonesia (10,054) and Thailand (6,383) declined by 10.1 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
In Northeast Asia, South Korea and Japan showed strong gains, with arrivals increasing by 61.4 percent and 24.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.
From January to August 2024, Macau’s visitor arrivals grew by 32.7 percent year-on-year, reaching 23,392,903, approximately 85.3 percent of the pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
International visitors totaled 1,503,936, recovering to 68.9 percent of the 2019 figure.
