According to the Deputy Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Ricky Hoi, the number of visitors to Macau last Saturday 18 March reached 96,000, while the number of Hong Kong visitors recovered to 80%.
This was not only the highest daily tally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, it is also edging closer to 2019’s average of around 108,000 visitor arrivals per day.
Speaking at an event on Thursday morning, Hoi said the number of visitors to Macau had increased every weekend, while the number of visitors from Monday to Thursday remained stable at between 50,000 to 60,000.
“Last Saturday, the number of visitors to Macau reached 96,000, while the number of visitors on Friday and Sunday also exceeded 70,000,” he said.
“The number of Hong Kong visitors to Macau has recovered to 80% of its pre-pandemic level and is expected to increase further during the Easter season.”
However, Hoi also pointed out that although the number of mainland visitors has recovered to around 50%, the number of international visitors remains on the low side.
This is “believed to be related to transportation capacity … the MGTO will continue to promote Macau overseas,” he explained.
Macau has seen a surge in arrivals since the lifting of epidemic prevention restrictions on 8 January. The Macau government also dropped its mandatory mask mandate last month.
The total number of visitors to Macau in 2019 was 39.4 million, of which almost 29 million were from mainland China. Hong Kong was the second largest source market with 7.4 million arrivals.
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