China study: Macau ranks first in travel destinations for mainland residents in 1H
Macau has been the favorite travel destination for mainland residents in the first six months (1H) of this year, a recently published report by the China Tourism Academy has noted.
According to the “Big Data Report on Outbound Tourism in the First Half of 2023,” Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were the three top destinations for Chinese outbound tourists, comprising 79.89% of the total number of visits in the first six months of this year. From these, the visits to Macau accounted for nearly 50.9%, followed by Hong Kong at 26.66%, and Taiwan at 2.33%.
According to the same report, 40.37 million outbound trips by mainland tourists were recorded in the 1H, which means that around 17 million of those have had Macau as a destination.
An analysis made by the Times taking into account the official statistical information provided by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) has found inconsistent data.
The Times has concluded that, contrary to what the “Big Data Report on Outbound Tourism in the First Half of 2023” states, the large majority of the trips recorded by the China Tourism Academy report are, in reality, not related to tourism but potentially to commuting for work by non-resident workers and other related trips. This is because local official statistics only recorded, in the same given period, the entry of some 11,645,877 visitors in total, of which, only 7,544,179 were from the mainland.
The China Tourism Academy is a research institute directly under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It is responsible for policy and study of theory regarding the integrated development of cultural activities and tourism, and tourism statistical work and data analysis.
In the report, the local government, through the Government Information Bureau, is said to be “pleased to see mainland tourists choosing to come to Macau,” adding,
“The government is advancing its appropriate economic diversification strategy, making use of the city’s high-quality tourism facilities and services; and continuously optimizing its tourism-related assets. These efforts complement Macau’s goal of attracting a greater number of tourists from overseas, and promoting the local tourism industry.”
In the first six months of the year, the local government has organized several tourism-promotion events in both cities on the mainland and abroad, intending to attract both mainland and international tourists.
Weekend sees record-high arrivals: MGTO
Visitor arrivals over the weekend recorded the highest average daily arrivals since 2020, as hotel occupancy rate also exceeded 90%.
According to the deputy director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Cheng Wai Tong, authorities remain confident of inbound tourist arrivals in the second half of the year, as Saturday’s arrival surged to 139,000. In terms of attracting foreign tourists, Cheng said overseas tourism is gradually recovering. Compared with the same period in 2019, as of last month, overseas tourists have recovered to 56% of 2019, among which Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia dominated the figures.
For Cheng, the upcomingMid-Autumn Festival to the National Day Golden Week, as well as the International Fireworks Display Contest is slated to attract a significant number of tourists.
