MGTO forecasts 700,000 visitors over May 1 Golden Week

The director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Helena de Senna Fernandes, has forecast that 700,000 visitors will enter Macau during the five days that comprise the “Golden Week” of the Labor Day holiday.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 13th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo, Senna Fernandes noted that the figure for the five days is expected to reach between 635,000 and 700,000, an average of 127,000 to 140,000 visitor entries per day.

In fact, the forecast represents a potential increase of between 5% and 16% for this year’s holiday.

Last year, Macau received 604,395 visitors, a daily average of 120,879, close to but below the 130,000 per day forecast by MGTO.

The single day with the highest influx of visitors was May 3 (Friday), when 154,006 crossed the border into Macau, followed by the previous day (May 2), when 150,862 arrived in the city.

In the same period last year, the Public Security Police Force also recorded the entry of 36,189 international visitors, with a daily average of 7,238. These visitors represented 6% of the total arrivals, a significantly higher figure (2% higher) than those recorded over the Easter and Ching Ming Festival holidays.

Senna Fernandes also said that the authorities are doing a good job cooperating with the industry to expand the offering of products and services to cater to a growing number of diverse visitors.

While no forecasts have yet been made for hotel occupancy during this period, it reached 89.2% on average last year, with the highest occupancy rate recorded on May 2 (Thursday) at 95.1%.

In the neighboring region of Hong Kong, Financial Secretary Paul Chan forecast yesterday that about 840,000 tourists from the mainland are expected to visit Hong Kong during the holiday period, a 10% increase from last year.

According to a report from the state-owned Chinese-language newspaper Ta Kung Pao (L’Impartial), Hong Kong hotels are in high demand for the upcoming “Golden Week,” and many are almost fully booked.

The newspaper cites an industry operator saying that occupancy for the Labor Day holidays is expected to be over 80%.

It is worth noting that this year, the Labor Day “Golden Week” coincides with another festive day (Buddha’s Birthday on May 5) that is highly celebrated in mainland China, Macau, and Hong Kong, as well as South Korea and Vietnam. This factor might also contribute to the increase in travelers.