[Phot; Ricaela Diputado
This year’s Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday is forecasted to see a daily average of up to 175,000 visitors in Macau, with an over 90% hotel occupancy rate during this period, the director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, stated on the sidelines of the press conference for the “Parade for Celebration of the Year of the Horse 2026.”
Speaking on the topic with the media, Senna Fernandes stated, “We are looking at a daily average of between 158,000 and 175,000 visitors. This is the range we are looking for. If we are counting for nine days, we are looking at between 140,000 and 155,000 people.”
With the large number of tourists expected to visit Macau during the upcoming holiday, the director stated that new elements have been added to this year’s third consecutive parade, which will be held on February 19 from 8 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. and on February 28 from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
“This year’s New Year’s parade, as usual, will be held on two nights. The first night will be on the third day of the Chinese New Year, and the second night will be on the twelfth day. So in fact, because of being included in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s platform, we are in fact celebrating Chinese New Year all together with the world.” Senna Fernandes noted.
The Year of the Horse parade will include a Golden Dragon parade, community performances, and float parades, and will showcase an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and a fireworks display. There will be 4,200 seats available to the audience.
Speaking on the new additions to this year’s parade, the MGTO director said, “Traditionally, we have the fireworks, but then this year, we are going to add the drone performances together with the fireworks for the first time,” adding, “And for the first time, we are going to extend some parts of the parade to the ZAPE area as well and have some performances before the parade starts.”
On the third and twelfth days of the CNY, there will be performances at Nam Van Lake and in the Northern District. The first parade includes 17 floats and 1,300 performers.
The MGTO has been promoting tourism+ and would like to introduce more elements of technology with arts. This year, they aimed to enhance the audience experience and impress viewers.
“On the integration of technology and arts front, the three displays will be held on the third day, the seventh day, and the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, including 3,888 UAVs combined with fireworks displays,” Senna Fernandes mentioned.
“As in the last year, we will be extending the finishing of the parade to Fisherman’s Wharf, and there will be another performance. At the same time, whilst the parade is on, there will be a direct broadcast, and we will have LED installations. So people can watch the parade, even if they are not physically at the venue. So this is a new kind of experience that we will also want to bring to the ZAPE area,” she remarked, adding that this year’s parade is MOP31 million, representing a 5% increase on last year’s budget.
“[The budget increment] is because we have added a number of other activities, and we also have additional performances. So we are doing our best to optimize these events,” she said, noting that she hopes that even if visitors come on the first or second day of the holiday, they will visit different parts of the city where they can access various kinds of activities.
“We will carry out the evaluation after the events have concluded. We commissioned a third-party evaluation agency to collect feedback from Macau residents and tourists alike,” Senna Fernandes said.
In addition to the parade during the holiday, between February 17 and 23 from 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., there will be several activities held at the Macau Grand Prix Museum during the holiday, from February 17 to 23, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Calligraphy performers will write New Year’s greetings, and a lot of products will be sold at a discounted price.
Also, from February 23 to 26, there will be several other cultural and creative activities, including fairs, workshops, and performances in the Mong Ha district.
To conclude the celebrations, between March 1 and 8, another cultural and creative fair will be held at Tap Seac Square, featuring performances, workshops, and small parades. Ricaela Diputado
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