No visitor surge expected despite Ching Ming coinciding with Easter

Macau braces for a five-day holiday as Ching Ming coincides with Easter, but tourism operators say a visitor surge is unlikely.

Daily arrivals are expected to grow steadily, with overall numbers likely to remain similar to a regular weekend.

Tourism operators said the main reason is that mainland tourists largely follow traditional customs during Ching Ming, which limits leisure travel.

Operators noted two key factors behind the restrained increase. First, Ching Ming is traditionally focused on tomb-sweeping and ancestral rituals, and the three-day mainland holiday leaves limited time for leisure trips. Second, although Hong Kong is a major source market during Easter, its five-day break offers many travel options, prompting some visitors to choose destinations further afield rather than Macau.

Operators expect that the local tourism sector will maintain stability during the extended holiday, with steady arrivals supporting the city’s ongoing efforts to balance quantity with quality in its visitor offerings.

Meanwhile, the holiday from April 4–6 is expected to see 2.3 million daily border crossings nationwide, up 11% from last year. Zhuhai Gongbei is projected at 375,000, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at 152,000, and Qingmao and Hengqin ports at 113,000 each.

According to authorities, they have ramped up inspection lanes, strengthened monitoring, and

Low-pressure trough set to damp holiday weekend

Macau is set to face a soggy Easter and Ching Ming Festival holiday.

From April 3–6, a trough of low pressure will edge closer to the coast of Guangdong, promising frequent showers, thunderstorms, and gusty winds, the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) announced.

The unsettled weather will dominate the long weekend, with cloudy skies, occasional thundery showers, and heavy rain at times, especially tomorrow, Saturday.

Temperatures will hover between 21 and 29 degrees Celsius, with high humidity of 70–98%, signaling the end of winter chills.

Today brings cloudy conditions with a few showers and isolated thunderstorms later, shifting to south-southwesterly winds at force 3–5 with gusts. Saturday and Sunday are forecast to worsen, with occasional thundery downpours and force 4–5 southerly winds. These conditions are then expected to ease slightly on Monday.