Macau sets three border-crossing records as May Day Golden Week boosts tourism

Mainland China’s extension of the May Day Labor Day holiday into a five-day Golden Week helped Macau set three new border-crossing records on the day following the holiday, with 248,000 inbound visitors in a single day – 85% of whom were from the mainland.

Macau set three new border-crossing records during this year’s May Day holiday, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) announced on Sunday. On the second day of the holiday, the city recorded its highest single-day total of border crossings, highest single-day inbound travelers, and highest single-day passenger volume at Hengqin Port.

[Photo: Melissandre Denize]

A total of 889,000 border crossings were recorded in a single day, with the Gongbei checkpoint accounting for 50.6%, followed by Hengqin at 16.6% and Qingmao at 15.0%. Inbound travelers reached 248,000 in a single day, with mainland Chinese making up 85.0%, Hong Kong residents accounting for 10.0%, Taiwan 1.0%, and foreign nationals 4.0%. Hengqin Port also set a new single-day passenger flow record of nearly 148,000.

As of 9 p.m. last night, Macau has recorded a total of 785,664 arrivals since May 1, with the peak on May 2, when 247,729 visitors were recorded.

The force anticipated Sunday that passenger traffic would remain high in the coming days, with a total of 213,000 border crossings recorded at all Macau border checkpoints as of 11 a.m. yesterday – including 77,000 travelers, of whom 59,000 were inbound.

[Photo: Lynzy Valles]

The surge in cross-border activity has drawn attention, with the Gongbei Border Inspection Station releasing statistics yesterday showing that more than 1.23 million people passed through Gongbei Port during the first three days of the May Day holiday.

Commenting on the passenger flow, officials noted that it has “continued to rise,” adding that this reflects “the integration of people’s livelihoods and economic ties between Guangdong and Macau, as well as the continuously improving level of connectivity within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.”

Officials believe that two-way passenger flows – driven by a large number of cross-border tourists from the mainland – are steadily increasing, with holiday travelers combining tourism, leisure, family visits, cross-border work, and business exchanges.

This trend, as noted, has been further boosted by the launch of cultural events in Zhuhai and Macau, including tourism and cultural festivals, music festivals, and concerts.

Macau’s tourism market saw strong visitor traffic over the May Day holiday, despite a yellow rain warning being in effect for four hours on Sunday.

The highest total rainfall was recorded at both the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Municipal Park and the Avenida dos Jogos da Ásia Oriental weather stations at 52.6 millimeters, with other districts generally recording over 30 millimeters.

As the holiday concludes today, a business association told Chinese-language media that the pedestrian zone in Taipa Village – specially set up for the May Day holiday – performed beyond expectations, with one representative stating: “The flow of visitors entering the zone has been continuous.”

The Public Security Police Force reiterated that advance preparations had been made for border clearance operations during the Golden Week.

Officers opened additional inspection lanes during peak hours, deployed extra personnel to strengthen on-site order maintenance and security at border checkpoints, and made every effort to ensure safe, orderly, and smooth crossings. Among the measures implemented, crowd control was carried out multiple times along the area around the Ruins of St. Paul’s.

‘Unlocking many facets’ of the city

This year’s holiday season also introduced a brand-new service, Xinhua News Agency noted in an article published on Saturday, praising the May Day holiday for “unlocking the many facets of Macau.”

The state-run news agency added that “the Macau cultural and tourism market has seen the emergence of numerous new business models and experiences.” During this year’s holiday, in addition to long-standing attractions that remained as popular as ever, many tourists strolled through leisure markets and cultural exhibitions, participated in performing arts events, and discovered the many facets of Macau.

The article mentioned that local authorities, in collaboration with the city’s six integrated resort operators, launched the “Community-Exploration Tour Bus” initiative, featuring three themes, six routes, and nine community drop-off points. Departing from multiple locations in Taipa, travelers can take the free tour bus service to visit popular tourist attractions, sample authentic local cuisine, and explore Macau’s traditional neighborhoods.

Prior to the holiday, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) estimated that the daily average number of visitors would be around 160,000, totaling 800,000 over the five-day period, according to authorities. Available figures at the time indicated that hotel occupancy rates during the period were expected to reach approximately 90%.

However, authorities expressed hope of attracting more visitors during periods outside of Golden Weeks as well, committing to drawing international tourists through multiple channels – including identifying events in Greater Bay Area cities that draw significant numbers of overseas visitors and creating incentives for them to extend their trips to Macau.

During the 2026 May Day Golden Week, both Hong Kong and Macau experienced a travel peak, with a significant influx of residents traveling “northward” alongside a large number of visitors. The Hengqin Port of Entry recorded a cumulative passenger flow of over 276,000 during the first two days of the holiday.

On May 2 alone, more than 33,000 Hong Kong and Macau residents crossed the border, prompting the Hengqin Border Inspection Station to remind travelers to “plan their itineraries reasonably, avoid peak hours, and clear customs in an orderly manner.”

Authorities warned on Sunday that passenger volumes are expected to remain at high levels, facing “a double surge” of mainland tourists traveling to Macau and Hong Kong and Macau residents returning home.