T Easter holidays season saw fewer visitors than expected to Macau, according to figures from the Public Security Police Force (PSP) Immigration Department.
A total of 476,027 visitors entered Macau in the first five days of the Easter Holiday (March 29 to April 2).
This amounts to a daily average of 95,205, almost 5,000 below the forecast from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, who earlier last week had predicted a daily average of at least 100,000.
The peak of the visitor arrivals was reached on the second day (March 30) when some 122,235 visitors crossed the border into Macau.
Nonetheless, this year’s results represent an increase of 17.76% year-on-year when compared with the first five days of the same season last year (404,237).
According to Senna Fernandes, hotel occupancy in Macau was about 88% during these first five days, a figure also noted by the president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, Andy Wu.
The MGTO director also noted the growth in international visitation, which reached some 7,200 in the first four days, an 80% increase year-on-year.
As expected, most of those arriving in Macau (75%) came from the mainland, with Hong Kong coming second at 19%.
Foreigner visitors represented 4%, while those arriving from Taiwan were around 2%.
According to the latest figures available at the time of the report, it is estimated the daily average for the first six days of the Easter Holidays and Ching Ming Festival should have dropped to around 91,000.
No forecast yet for May Day
Although visitor arrivals were below expectations during the first five days, Senna Fernandes has maintained a forecast of 100,000 per day on average for the upcoming Ching Ming Festival for the upcoming three days (April 4-6). The festival starts today and continues over the weekend.
She refrained from making a concrete prediction for next month’s May Day Golden Week (May 1 to May 5), but noted it is expected to exceed the Easter and Ching Ming Holidays.
Growth in visitors from newly added IVS cities
The number of visitors to Macau from the cities of Qingdao and Xi’an, recently added to the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) to Hong Kong and Macau, has been growing steadily, the MGTO director said.
Citing data from February this year, Senna Fernandes said visitors from Xi’an totaled about 36,000, while those from Qingdao reached 18,000.
According to MGTO calculations, the figures account for a growth of 14% and 40% year-on-year respectively when compared with pre-pandemic (2019).
She expected visitors from these two cities would continue to grow, as the local tourism authority has been targeting promotion particularly oriented for these two market sources.
Airport reports 80.4% more passengers over Easter
During the first four days of the Easter Holiday, the Macau International Airport (MIA) has reportedly handled 88,978 passengers, an increase of 80.38% when compared year-on-year with the same period last year, the MIA Company has said.
According to the statement, the number of aircraft movements (arrivals and departures) has also increased by 44.62% to 658 this year.
When compared to pre-pandemic times (2019) the number of passengers has recovered by 74%, while aircraft movements have recovered 76%.
The MIA added that during this year, the company will continue to develop medium and long-haul routes while actively cooperating with airlines to develop connecting flights.
One of the services the local airport wants to start is the so-called “one ticket to the final destination” and baggage check to facilitate travel connections to Europe and the United States (among others) from Macau.
