Macau has received some 9.4 million visitors in the first five months of the year, and authorities in the city are expecting more than 20 million tourists by the end of the year.
“We’re not choosing the tourists, we’re working at getting sufficient numbers returning and then we will work segment by segment,” said the city’s tourism head to broadcaster TDM Canal Macau.
“Southeasts Asia is a very important region for our regional tourism cooperation,” noted Helena de Senna Fernandes, the MGTO director.
“The markets leading the international tourism push are within Southeast Asia. That doesn’t mean that each market has the same weight,” notes the official.
“Direct flights are the main focus, but if that’s not possible, we need to create more access points – such as through the Hong Kong Airport,” noted the official, reiterating many calls from the industry to facilitate just such an avenue.
“We’re also looking to more long-haul destinations – the Middle East, Europe […] but we can’t work on all of the markets at the same time, even if we wished to,” Fernandes told the broadcaster.
