CNY visitors from Taiwan see largest increase, while Hong Kong sees notable decline

Macau welcomed 1.309 million visitors from the mainland during the eight-day Spring Festival Golden Week holiday in 2025, according to government data.

This marks a 3.5% decrease compared to the previous year. On average, the region saw approximately 163,000 tourists each day throughout the holiday period.

The most significant notes go for the substantial increase in the number of visitors from Taiwan (+20.7%) and the notable decrease in those from Hong Kong (-8.9%) compared year-on-year with 2024.

A decline was also observed in the visitors from the mainland (-3.2%), which, given its large base, accounted for the loss of most of the visitors compared to last year.

On the other hand, the losses were offset slightly by the international visitors, who grew 11.5% this year to 67,651.

Totals show that visitors generally contracted by 3.5% this year, reaching over 1.3 million.

From these, over 1 million (76.4%) were visitors from the mainland, followed by those from the neighboring region of Hong Kong (17.6%). International visitors accounted for 5.2% of the market share, with the remaining being visitors from Taiwan.

Without surprise, the most used border crossing checkpoint continued to be the Border Gate, which was responsible for the arrival of some 503,589 visitors. The second busiest border post was the checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, where another 314,488 entered Macau.

Hengqin port came third with 213,382 entries recorded over eight days, followed by the Taipa Ferry Terminal (77,920) and the Airport (76,166).

Hotels sold out as expected

During a press conference on Tuesday, Cheung Kin Chung, president of the Macau Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association, said local hotels were primarily booked to capacity during the Lunar New Year (CNY) holidays.

The acknowledgment confirmed the expectations shared by the same official the week before the holidays when Cheung said that most of the city’s hotels should be fully occupied during CNY.

Cheung noted that the hotel occupancy exceeded 90% in all the units, with some reaching full capacity.

He pointed out that, according to the association’s information, there was a significant increase in small-group tours, family trips, and visitors from Southeast Asia, which benefited the different types of lodging in Macau.

Cheung noted that even though room rates increased as they typically do, they stayed at the same level as in previous years and remained reasonable, as requested by the tourism authorities. He said this demonstrates the industry’s commitment to providing quality service to all visitors.

Five infractions by taxi drivers detected

The Public Security Police Force (PSP) reported five infractions by taxi drivers between January 28 (CNY Eve) and January 31 (the third day of the New Year).

The violations included overcharging, refusal to provide transportation, and one case of a driver ignoring the order at a taxi stand.

Additionally, two drivers were reported for overspeeding while transporting passengers, and one case involved a driver taking a longer route to increase the fare. The police also referred a complaint of mistreatment by a taxi driver to the Transport Bureau for follow-up.

Moreover, five prosecutions were made against drivers offering illegal transportation in private vehicles.