The Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, said Sunday that the booking rate for Macau hotels over Easter was currently at between 50% and 60%.
However, the Chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, Andy Wu, suggested the booking rate was expected to reach 80%.
“As of the end of last week, the hotel booking rate is about 50% to 60% the average daily visitor arrivals are expected to reach 65,000,” de Senna Fernandes said.
“The number of visitors to Macau reached more than 70,000 on Saturday (1 April) while the number of visitors in March was higher than in February, averaging between 61,000 and 62,000.”
Speaking to, Wu said that although Easter is not a recognized holiday in mainland China, the fact that it takes place across the weekend means many mainland Chinese will still visit Macau.
“More people from Hong Kong will come to Macau during Easter, and hotel bookings are expected to reach 80% from Friday to Saturday, with the number of visitors going up to around 70,000 from Friday to Saturday,” he said.
Wu added that Macau residents have a strong desire to travel during the Easter holidays, with the travel rate to reach 60% to 70% of pre-COVID levels overseas travel – mainly to places like the mainland, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Japan.
“However, due to the fact that the airline capacity has not yet recovered, the group tour fee has increased, which is 20% to 30% higher than before the pandemic,” he said.
As for international visitors, Wu believes that foreigners have little desire to come to Macau because of the limited options for air travel.
“The airlines’ capacity is only half of what it was before the pandemic, resulting in high airfares for Easter, and the number of international visitors only accounted for about 10% prior to the pandemic,” he explained.
De Senna Fernandes reiterated this small proportion of foreign arrivals in the past, noting that, “The Tourism Bureau will continue to promote to Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan and other countries to attract tourists to Macau.”
