Sector surges with 20% increase in international visitors this summer

As summer holidays end and schools reopen, Andy Wu, chair of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, revealed that visitor arrivals in August are on track to match levels from 2019, before the pandemic disrupted travel.

While traditional group tours have seen a slight decline due to changing travel preferences, the rise in government-promoted study tours signals a shift toward a more diverse range of visitors.

Speaking to Macao Daily News, Wu cited the success of intensified overseas marketing efforts by both the government and industry, which have driven a 20% increase in international visitor numbers compared to the same period last year.

These campaigns have effectively attracted more visitors from Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and the Philippines, alongside notable growth from South Korea and Indonesia.

Despite the surge in arrivals, data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) shows a 12.8% decline in per-capita non-gaming spending during the first half of 2025, falling to MOP1,970.

However, total non-gaming expenditure still saw a slight increase of 0.2%, reaching MOP37.86 billion. This growth was mainly driven by same-day visitors, whose spending rose by 7% to MOP7.85 billion, helping to offset a 1.4% decline in spending by overnight visitors, who contributed MOP30.01 billion.

With several satellite airports scheduled to close by year-end, Wu highlighted untapped potential in ZAPE, which offers more than 6,000 hotel rooms. He explained that officials are seeking ways to boost community engagement, redirect tourist traffic, and increase local spending in the area.

Hotels see stable occupancy

DSEC data showed that the hotel sector maintained strong performance in July.

The average occupancy rate of guest rooms reached 91.0%, up 1.9 percentage points year-on-year, while the total number of hotel guests rose 4.0% to 1,283,000.

Five-star hotels saw occupancy climb to 94.2%, and four-star hotels to 86.4%, while three-star properties dipped slightly to 86.3%.

The number of inbound package tour visitors fell 18.4% to 145,000, largely due to more Chinese mainland tourists traveling individually under the Individual Visit Scheme.

Mainland visitors accounted for 958,000 hotel guests in July, a 3.9% increase year-on-year. International visitors also grew by 7.3% to 82,000, with notable increases from South Korea, Thailand, the USA, and Indonesia, while arrivals from Japan, India, and Malaysia declined.