Macau’s tourism sector has shown strong signs of recovery in the first three quarters of 2024, with a significant surge in inbound package tour visitors, particularly from the mainland and international markets.
According to the Statistics and Census Service, the number of inbound package tour visitors jumped 101.2% in the January to September period, reaching 1,497,000. Visitors from mainland China, the region’s largest source market, surged 91% to 1,332,000, while international tour visitors increased by a remarkable 276% to 142,000. The growth was led by a significant rise in visitors from South Korea (387.1%) and India (929.8%).
The hotel sector in Macau also saw improvements, with the average occupancy rate of guest rooms increasing by 4.8 percentage points to 85.4%. The number of hotel guests rose by 11.2% to 10,889,000, with the average length of stay remaining stable at 1.7 nights.
Outbound travel by Macau residents also experienced robust growth, with the number of residents purchasing outbound travel services through agencies increasing by 46.2% in the first three quarters to 426,000. Package tour travel by residents surged 106.9% to 151,000, with the majority, 137,000, visiting mainland China.
The hotel sector in Macau saw further expansion, with the number of establishments rising by 7 to 144. However, the total number of available guest rooms declined by 3.3% to 44,000. Occupancy rates improved across all hotel categories, with 5-star hotels seeing the largest gain of 6 percentage points to 87.5%.
International guests accounted for 779,000 visitors, an 86.8% jump, led by the Republic of Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. In September, the occupancy rate climbed 6.4 percentage points to 84.7%, but the total number of guests declined by 2.1% to 1,112,000, with the average length of stay holding steady at 1.6 nights. Victoria Chan
