Tourism | MIA: More frequent air routes bode well for tourist numbers

New and more frequent air routes linking the Macau International Airport (MIA) with destinations in countries such as Japan and Russia bode well for tourism numbers in the city, according to members of the tourism industry, promoting deeper connections between the MSAR and markets which have significant growth potential.
The increased connectivity comes in spite of numerous service suspensions from both Thai Smile Airways and TransAsia Airways. Despite these setbacks, MIA has been successful in attracting four new carriers in the first half of this year – VietJet, Lion Air, Royal Flight and Nok Air.
Existing routes have also seen a rise in the frequency of weekly flights. Air Macau’s Macau-Fukuoka service, launched in March, became the third air link between the city and Japan in addition to routes serving Tokyo and Osaka. Furthermore, Air Macau aims to increase its weekly flight frequency from four to five starting from October 30.
Tourism and Hospitality media website, TTG Asia, cited a Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) representative as saying that the new services “will help [Macau] further tap [into] the Japanese market, one of Macau’s top international visitor source markets.”
Links between Russia and the city have also seen increased interest after Royal Flight airline announced a twice-weekly charter service to Moscow in May. According to the airport’s website, the Russian charter upped the frequency to thrice-weekly in July.
Other transportation infrastructure projects may further yet boost Macau’s appeal to international and regional visitors, as well as making it easier for them to visit the city.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, providing that it permits non-cargo traffic, will create a direct link between the extensively connected Hong Kong International Airport and the MSAR, while the Light Rail Transit initiative in Macau will make it easier for tourists to journey between the historic center of the city and the Cotai strip. DB