Macau logs nearly 666,000 arrivals over Ching Ming–Easter holiday period

[Photo; Ricael Diputado]

A total of 665,918 visitors entered Macau during the Easter and Ching Ming holidays, with mainland China remaining the primary source market and contributing more than 70% of overall arrivals.

During five-day holiday period, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) recorded over 2.15 million border crossings, with mainland China remaining the top source of visitors despite not observing Easter, as 811,964 mainland crossers entered the territory in the first two days alone.

Provisional police figures show that Macau recorded approximately 1.34 million border crossings during the combined Ching Ming and Easter holidays, including 665,918 inbound travelers – with mainland China leading all source markets at 811,964 arrivals, followed by Hong Kong with 186,374.

By comparison, last year’s three-day Ching Ming holiday alone saw 409,000 visitor arrivals, averaging more than 136,000 per day, a 14.7% year-on-year increase, with mainland visitors accounting for over 70% of the total.

A review of historical records shows that in 2021, the three-day Ching Ming Festival holiday in mainland China also overlapped with the Easter holiday.

During that five-day holiday period, total visitor arrivals to Macau reached nearly 100,000, with a daily average of close to 20,000. The average hotel occupancy rate stood at 53.1%, while mainland visitors accounted for more than 90% of all arrivals to Macau.

The surge in visitors to Macau during the holiday period came as a surprise to the industry, according to Andy Wu, president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau (TICM), who told Chinese-language media outlet Exmoo in a recent interview that, due to the traditional tomb-sweeping customs associated with the Ching Ming Festival, the three-day break in mainland China might not necessarily drive a major travel boom.

He added that hotel room rates in Macau remained largely at typical Saturday or weekday levels, with no significant increase.

In the interview, he also noted that Macau is increasingly emerging as a preferred short-haul destination for Hong Kong residents.

He estimated that the number of Hong Kong visitors to Macau during the Easter holiday would be roughly on par with a typical Saturday. “Macau is close to Hong Kong and easily accessible,” he reportedly said, adding that “Hong Kong residents have long been accustomed to traveling to Macau.”

However, short trips to Macau have become a popular choice during this year’s Ching Ming Festival. While some business associations believe that tourist spending remains largely on par with the same period last year, others argue that consumption has been relatively weak.

According to separate media reports featuring interviews with two different industry insiders, Osborn Lo, president of the Macau Association of Retailers & Tourism Services, stated that Macau’s tourism market performed quite well during the Ching Ming and Easter holidays.

He observed that family travelers made up a significant portion of visitors. Based on his understanding, business at souvenir shops in tourist districts grew by 10 to 20% year-on-year, while retail sales at street-front shops also saw an increase of about 10%.

Meanwhile, Lei Cheok Kuan, chairman of the Industry and Commerce Federation of the Macau Central and Southern District, acknowledged that some stores recorded modest growth supported by the holiday crowds, and that street vendors in local communities – who face no rental pressure – performed relatively well. However, he also pointed out in an interview that while the convergence of the Ching Ming and Easter holidays boosted visitor flows and provided some support to the market, overall consumer spending among tourists remained weak.

He added that small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises continue to face significant operational pressures.

He reiterated his concerns, stating that while the convergence of the Ching Ming and Easter holidays has boosted visitor flows and provided some support to the market, overall consumer spending among tourists remains weak.

As a result, small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises continue to face significant operational pressures. He called on the local government to further introduce substantive support measures.

He recommended that the government continuously and closely monitor economic trends and promptly increase support for small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises. Proposed measures include the reduction or subsidization of utility bills such as water and electricity, as well as rental subsidies. Such policies, he said, would effectively alleviate the operational burdens on merchants and help local small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises weather the difficult period.

With just over 20 days to go until the Labor Day holiday, industry insiders have acknowledged that local retailers must offer discounts and special-priced products to attract visitors to spend in Macau.

They also advised the trade to continuously improve frontline service quality and enhance the shopping experience for tourists in order to maintain the city’s tourism competitiveness.

Airport sees holiday passenger growth

Macau International Airport reported that over the five-day holidays (April 3–7), passenger traffic reached 115,000, up 2.6% year-on-year, with 856 flight movements, up 9.1%.

For the first quarter of 2026, total passenger numbers hit 2.117 million, a 15% increase from last year. Mainland China travelers accounted for 41%, Taiwan 19%, and Southeast and Northeast Asia combined 40%. International travelers in January–February totaled 224,000, up 11%.

Amid high fuel prices, the airport is coordinating with airlines to open new mainland China and Northeast Asia routes in June–July and to optimize summer operations.

Gongbei checkpoint

posts six-year high

for Q1 crossings

Passenger flows at Zhuhai’s checkpoints remain high, with cross-border travel demand continuing to rise. According to official statistics from the Zhuhai General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, during the three-day Ching Ming holiday, a total of over 2.09 million people crossed the border through the Gongbei, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, Hengqin, and Ching Ming checkpoints.

On April 6, alone, a record high of 48,600 vehicles were processed in a single day.

At the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Zhuhai highway port, over 410,000 passenger crossings were recorded during the three-day holiday, up about 14% year-on-year.

The port also handled approximately 77,400 vehicle crossings, ranking first among all checkpoints nationwide. On April 6, a record 29,800 vehicles were inspected, including 28,400 private cars and 22,800 Hong Kong and Macau single-plate vehicles, marking the highest single-day figure since the bridge opened.

As the busiest checkpoint in the country, the Gongbei checkpoint processed 1.02 million passenger crossings and about 22,000 vehicles over the holiday period, with two-way peak passenger flows overlapping. Meanwhile, the Hengqin checkpoint handled over 300,000 passenger crossings, an 18% increase year-on-year.

On Ching Ming Festival day, a single-day peak of 106,000 passengers was recorded.

Notably, the Gongbei Border Inspection Station under the Zhuhai General Station announced that in the first quarter of this year, over 33 million people crossed the border between Zhuhai and Macau through the Gongbei Port, a year-on-year increase of more than 10%, the highest first-quarter passenger flow in six years.

Authorities attribute this growth to the introduction of the “one-week-one-trip” and “multiple-entry permit” policies, which have facilitated smoother border crossings for cross-border students, business travelers, and residents of the two cities.

During the first quarter, the utilization rate of smart express e-channels at the Gongbei checkpoint reached nearly 20%, reducing average clearance time to under 10 seconds per person. Big data analytics have also been applied to accurately forecast passenger flows during key periods such as New Year’s Day and the Lunar New Year holiday.