Tourism surges as visitors and hotel stays rebound

The tourism industry has seen a remarkable resurgence, with inbound package tour visitors soaring 68.8% year-on-year in August 2024, reaching 224,000, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

This surge was largely driven by a 70.7% increase in visitors from mainland China, who accounted for 211,000 of the total.

International tour visitors also grew, increasing 44.3% to 11,000, with particularly strong growth from the Republic of Korea (up 61.4%) and India (up 337.5%).

This positive momentum extended into the first eight months of 2024, with 1,388,000 inbound package tour visitors recorded – a 127.6% year-on-year increase. Mainland Chinese tour visitors led the way, surging 115.5% to 1,240,000, while international tour visitors skyrocketed 352.2% to 128,000.

Macau residents have also been eager to travel, with 57,000 purchasing outbound services through travel agencies in August, up 35.1% year-on-year.

The number of residents taking package tours jumped 102.9% to 22,000, with the majority (20,000) visiting mainland China.

The hotel industry has likewise benefited from the tourism revival. While the total number of hotel guests dipped 3.8% year-on-year in August to 1,261,000, this figure was near 2019 levels, with international guests rising 21%. The average length of stay held steady at 1.6 nights.

Cumulatively, the average hotel occupancy rate in the first eight months of 2024 reached 85.5%, up 4.6 percentage points, as total guest numbers grew 12.9% to 9,773,000.