Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said yesterday that 1.46 million international tourist arrivals were recorded last year, recovering to 48 percent of the pre-pandemic 2019 visitors of about 3 million.

Macau witnessed a good recovery in international tourist arrivals, she said, adding that due to the fact that the global airline industry has yet to fully recover [from the three-year COVID-19 pandemic], the industry still faces manpower shortages, resulting in an insufficient number of flights all around the world.

For this year, according to Senna Fernandes, MGTO is targeting a baseline target of 3 million foreign tourist arrivals, in line with which this year’s promotion campaigns will pay special attention to expanding Macau’s international tourism market, including Southeast and Northeast Asian countries. MGTO has set aside a budget of 235 million patacas to attract foreign tourists, she noted.

In an effort to attract foreign tourists to travel to Macau, Senna Fernandes said, MGTO would continue to join hands with airlines offering direct flights to Macau at discounted airfares, among which, she added, Air Macau was expected to offer 100,000 discounted tickets on various international routes, including the newly opened direct flight to Kuala Lumpur, with a total budget of about 100 million patacas. She pointed out that due to the high prices of air tickets overseas, it was not possible for Macau to launch any “buy-one-get-one-free” special offers.

In addition, according to Macau’s veteran tourism chief, MGTO will also cooperate with Hong Kong travel agencies and cruise line operators, with the aim of expanding Macau’s international tourism market through multiple channels.

The ongoing promotion campaign also has included free ticket offer for direct bus services from the Hong Kong International Airport to Macau since January 1, which, Senna Fernandes said, has been well received.

Senna Fernandes made the remarks on the sidelines of yesterday’s ceremony at the local airport, which marked Air Macau’s inaugural flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Thanks to the visa-free policy between China and Malaysia, there will be four return flights between Macau and Kuala Lumpur every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after the opening of the route, according to Air Macau.

According to an MGTO statement on New Year’s Day, Macau recorded about 28.2 million visitor arrivals last year. Based on the international visitor figure announced by Senna Fernandes yesterday, foreigners accounted for around 5 percent of Macau’s visitor arrivals last year. Compatriots from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan made up about 95 percent of Macau’s visitor arrivals in 2023. 

Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes speaks to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s ceremony marking Air Macau’s inaugural flight to Kuala Lumpur, at the local airport.
– Photo courtesy of TDM