Visitor arrivals grew by 30.7% year-on-year in 2021, while overnight-stay visitor arrivals and the average length of stay of visitors both increased, according to the figures revealed by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in a statement,
The MGTO explained that the reason for the increase in arrivals is due to their efforts in holding roadshows in mainland China as well as the launch of their travel offers.
“All these endeavors have translated into considerable tourism revival,” the MGTO indicated.
The MGTO said that in 2021, they pushed forward various major activities including deepening integration across the fields of “Tourism+,” rolling out a series of “Macau Weeks” to promote Macau as a safe and quality destination as well as organizing events and activities to attract visitors.
As these endeavors were in tandem with online-and-offline promotions and various special travel offers, the total visitor arrivals reached 7.71 million last year, a year-on-year rise of 30.7%.
The average daily volume of visitor arrivals exceeded 21,000. Macau registered over 42,000 single-day visitor arrivals on both the first day of the Labour Day holidays (May 1) and New Year’s Eve (December 31). It is due to “the synergy of promotional measures and mega events that the single-day visitor arrivals increased further on festive holidays,” the MGTO said.
The average length of stay of overnight-stay visitors and number of these visitors both increased in 2021. Overnight-stay visitor arrivals reached 3.7 million throughout the year, a surge of 31.0%, and constituted 48% of overall visitor arrivals.
Total visitor expenditure (including gaming expenditure) between January and September 2021 amounted to MOP94.09 billion, marking a period-
on-period increase of 132.5%.
Three major strategies in 2022
The MGTO indicated that they have three major strategies in 2022 with regards to “tourism +” and regional cooperation, in order to drive tourism recovery and stimulate the local economy. These are to enhance online and offline promotions; deepen cross-sector integration of “Tourism+” and foster quality tourism development; as well as deepen regional cooperation and enhance destination glamour.
