1.35 million visitor arrivals during 8-day CNY Golden Week
Macau recorded a daily average of 169,725 visitor arrivals during this year’s mainland eight-day Spring Festival “Golden Week” holiday, returning to 98.8 percent of the level recorded during the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday in pre-pandemic 2019, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said in a statement yesterday.
Macau’s three-year COVID-19 pandemic curbs began in January 2020.
The statement also said that this year’s CNY daily average number of visitor arrivals from the mainland even slightly exceeded the one recorded in 2019’s CNY holiday period.
This year, the mainland’s eight-day Spring Festival Golden Week holiday began on February 10, the first day of the Year of the Dragon (“Lóng Nián” in Putonghua).
Saturday was the last day of this year’s Spring Festival Golden Week holiday.
The statement said that this year’s CNY number of visitor arrivals was higher than what MGTO had expected.
According to MGTO data released yesterday, Macau recorded a total of 1,357,803 visitor arrivals during this year’s Spring Festival Golden Week holiday between February 10 and 17, representing a daily average of 169,725.
In pre-pandemic 2019, Macau recorded a daily average of 171,702 visitor arrivals during the Spring Festival Golden Week holiday, which lasted seven days, yesterday’s MGTO statement pointed out.
Consequently, this year’s CNY daily average number of visitor arrivals reached 98.8 percent of the one recorded in 2019’s CNY holiday period.
Macau confirmed its first COVID-19 case in January 2020. The pandemic severely affected the local tourism industry until December 2022.
Speaking to reporters shortly before the CNY holiday period started, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said that she expected a daily average of 120,000 visitor arrivals during this year’s eight-day Spring Festival Golden Week holiday, thereby 960,000 in total over the period.
Daily mainland visitor arrival average rises 1.3 pct from 2019 CNY
According to the MGTO data released yesterday, the 1,357,803 visitor arrivals recorded during the eight days included 1,034,503 from the mainland and 253,453 from Hong Kong, accounting for 76.2 percent and 18.7 percent of the total respectively. Consequently, visitor arrivals from these two Chinese regions accounted for 94.9 percent of the total during this year CNY holiday.
Consequently, Macau recorded a daily average of 129,313 visitor arrivals from the mainland and 31,682 from Hong Kong during this year’s CNY holiday period.
According to MGTO historical data, Macau recorded a daily average of 127,681 visitor arrivals from the mainland during 2019’s CNY holiday period, because of which, yesterday’s MGTO statement said, this year’s CNY daily average number of visitor arrivals from the mainland slightly exceeded the one recorded in 2019’s corresponding period, representing a growth rate of 1.3 percent.
The statement also revealed that this year’s CNY daily average of the around 32,000 visitor arrivals from Hong Kong returned to 97.8 percent of the one recorded in 2019’s CNY holiday period.
Moreover, according to the statement, Macau recorded a daily average of some 6,600 foreign visitor arrivals during this year’s Spring Festival Golden Week holiday, recovering to 78.5 percent of the level recorded in 2019’s corresponding period.
The statement also reaffirmed that Macau recorded 217,541 visitor arrivals on Monday last week, i.e., the third CNY day, the second highest single-day number on record.
Macau recorded its so far highest single-day number of visitor arrivals, 226,326, on February 7, 2019, i.e., the third CNY day of pre-pandemic 2019.
During last year’s Spring Festival Golden Week holiday, which lasted seven days, Macau recorded around 451,000 visitor arrivals, representing a daily average of about 64,400, according to MGTO data released at that time.
Last year, the first post-pandemic year, Macau recorded 28.2 million visitor arrivals, or a daily average of 77,296, recovering to 71.6 percent of the record 39.4 million in pre-pandemic 2019, or a daily average of 107,962.
Senna Fernandes told reporters early this month that she expected Macau’s number of visitor arrivals to reach 33 million this year, or nearly 84 percent of the 2019 level.
Hotel room rate rises 23.4 pct
Meanwhile, yesterday’s statement also said that the average occupancy rate of hotel guestrooms reached 95.2 percent during this year’s Spring Festival Golden Week holiday, an increase of around 10 percentage points from last year’s corresponding period.
In addition, the average room rate stood at 1,922 patacas this time, an increase of 23.4 percent from last year’s CNY holiday period, the statement said.
Residents and tourists alike throng Largo do Senado, the city’s main square, on Thursday last week, the sixth day of the Year of the Dragon. – Photo: Tony Wong
