October’s visitor arrivals decreased by 47.8% month-on-month to 328,245 due to the tightening of cross-boundary measures between Zhuhai and Macau in early to mid-October due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The figure represented a drop of 43.6% year-on-year, data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated.
Numbers of same-day visitors (216,829) and overnight visitors (111,416) fell by 20.8% and 63.9% year-on-year respectively.
October is typically one of the months which records the most tourists. However, this year, it saw a devastating steep decline as the city recorded 14 Covid-19 cases in a matter of two weeks, leading to the closures of government and entertainment venues and facilities, as well as the stricter requirements imposed for travelers entering Zhuhai from Macau.
Due to the quarantine measures imposed in mid-October, the average length of stay of visitors went up by 0.9 days year-on-year to 2.3 days, with that of overnight visitors (7.2 days) increasing by 4.5 days.
In terms of visitor origins, the number of mainland visitors declined by 44.2% year-on-year to 300,996, with 64,097 of them travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS).
In the first 10 months of 2021, the number of visitor arrivals grew by 32.2% year-on-year to 6,083,773, coming from a low base last year as Macau’s borders only reopened in August for mainland travelers who did not possess IVS visas.
Meanwhile, Macau’s visitor arrivals were at a record high since the September outbreak when 35,525 visitors were registered on Friday, topping the record number of 30,000 from previous weeks. This is the highest recorded number of visitors since September 25, when Macau entered an immediate state of prevention due to a Covid-19 outbreak and implemented strict infection control measures.
