Tourism numbers surge, hotel occupancy at 84% in May

Tourism numbers jumped significantly in Macau during May according to data released by the Statistics and Census Service.

Package tour visitors to Macau increased 187.3% to 242,000 compared to the same month last year, with visitors from mainland China making up 219,000 of that total—a 173% rise. International package tours soared 522.2% to 18,000, with sizable gains from South Korea and India.

For the January through May period, package tourists grew 225.3% to 928,000. Mainland China visitors comprised 828,000 of that figure, up 198.5% year-over-year. International tours skyrocketed 1,404.3% to 88,000, fueled by outsized growth from South Korea and India.

Meanwhile, 46,000 Macau residents purchased outbound travel services in May, a 28% increase. From January to May, 202,000 residents booked outbound trips, rising 49.3% from the prior year period.

Hotel data also showed positive signs in May. There were 143 establishments with 47,000 available rooms, both a modest increase from a year ago. The occupancy rate jumped 4.9 points to a robust 83.6%. International guest arrivals surged 66.1% while mainland China rose 9.7%.

For the first five months, hotel occupancy improved 7.7 points to 84.3%. Total guests increased 25% to over six million, indicating that a rebound is underway in Macau’s crucial tourism sector following the pandemic downturn.

Macau was ranked the most satisfactory destination for outbound tourists from the Chinese mainland during the first quarter of this year — the first time it has received such a designation — thanks to a number of favorable policies that have bolstered the city’s tourism industry.

According to the China Tourism Academy, Macau scored 83.49 on the satisfaction-level rankings of destinations visited by mainland outbound tourists, ranking No 1, while Hong Kong secured the seventh spot with 81.77.

The results can be attributed to the expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme, which allows travelers from more mainland cities to visit Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the distribution of consumption vouchers and easier customs clearance, Dai Bin, president of the CTA, said in an article published on the academy’s WeChat account recently. Victoria Chan