The first three days of the Chinese New Year holiday period saw 34,886 visitors arrive into Macau, a 14.6% improvement over the same period last year but still way down on pre-COVID levels.
According to figures published by the Public Security Police Force, the current daily average of 11,629 arrivals for the first three days of Golden Week is 10.2% lower than the average for the entirety of the Spring Festival Golden Week in 2021, although this year’s tally does not yet include the busier weekend period.
Compared to the daily average for the entire seven day holiday period in 2019, when 1.21 million visitors or 172,857 per day entered Macau, this year’s figure is still 93.3% down. It is also 68.8% lower than 2020’s figure of 261,100 or 37,300 visitors per day.
Visitation for the three days from 31 January to 2 February 2022 has at least shown signs of growth, rising from 9,680 on Monday to 15,091 on Wednesday. Of the 34,886 visitor arrivals during the period, 32,137 were from mainland China – up 17.7% year-on-year.
Of the nine modes and points of arrival, the most utilized was the border gate with 14,835 visitor arrivals, while 7,615 arrived by air and another 7,565 via the Hengqin Port.
The subdued visitation follows the recent tightening of border restrictions and some ongoing travel advisories affecting travel within mainland China.
Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau this week reported gross gaming revenue of MOP$6.34 billion (US$793 million) in January, down 20.9% year-on-year and 20.3% lower than December.
