Tourist numbers grow 4.4 percent before CNY

The Lunar New Year is, for many, a pivotal moment of the year and the peak of the celebration season. In Macau, as has become habit, it is a season where many arrive to visit, while many locals take the opportunity to visit other places.
According to the latest figures released yesterday and cited by TDM, from Wednesday (February 3) to Saturday (February 6), around 573,000 people entered the territory, an increase of 4.4 percent year-on-year from the same period last year. From those arrivals, 81 percent (466,000) were mainland Chinese, a figure that has also increased – in this instance, by 8.2 percent year-on-year.
Marc, a German student, had recently landed in Macau after arriving from Shanghai. This being his first time in Macau, he told the Times that his first impression was a little contrary to what he had been hoping.
“I was actually expecting Macau to be a little bit more peaceful. I find it quite crowded and jammed like Shanghai. But it has been interesting so far. We are here to stay for two days and then we go to visit Hong Kong, too,” he said.
As for Qin, also a first-timer in the territory, she admittedly nurtures different interests to Marc, who was said to be interested “in the European side and in the history of Macau.” By contrast, Qin declared, “I’m aiming to try all the foods,” and added, “I’ve heard so much about Macau food from my friends who came here before me.”
Gastronomy and the big hotels and casinos are on top of Qin’s to-do list. Even so, she denied feeling bored at the prospect of visiting more “historical sites” that were of interest to Marc.
Both admitted to the Times that Macau is different from what they imagined, as Marc was hoping for it to be more peaceful, while Qin was expecting to find a few more foreign tourists. She realized that, in fact, “most of the people in the streets are Chinese.”
Questioned about whether they would attend any events related to the Chinese New Year, the tourists said that they did not have much information about any program in Macau, but they had made plans to attend the Chinese New Year Parade in HK.
Elsewhere, the Times found Maria, a local resident who expressed some sadness at the fact that, this year, she is staying in Macau during this season.
“I usually take this opportunity [CNY] to spend a few days out of Macau, but, this year, I am forced to stay due to financial and family reasons,” she said.
In previous years, the Macau resident said she usually traveled to either Thailand, Singapore or even Japan.
This year, she said she is having an earlier Chinese New Year dinner with friends and close relatives, and plans to spend the remaining days simply “staying at home as much as possible to avoid the crowds.”
According to unofficial data provided by a travel agent operating in Praia Grande district, Macau residents choose this season to travel mostly to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, and there is also usually an increased demand during the season for packages to mainland China, namely to Beijing and Shanghai.

1,500 mainland tourists turned away monthly

During 2015 reportedly more than 50 tourists were prevented on a daily basis by the Gongbei Port Customs from exiting China to enter Macau due to invalid endorsement. The issue follows the introduction of a new electronic document, launched in May 2014, which replaced the old version of the Travel Permit for mainland residents. A Zhuhai newspaper reported on Saturday that some mainland tourists did not apply for the renewal and are being stopped at the border. Residents from Guangdong can apply for a renewal at any “self-accreditation machine” in Zhuhai, whereas people from other provinces must return to their place of residence registration to renew the endorsement.