Between 1 and 6 October, Macao saw the arrival of a record 916,000 visitors during the first six days of the National Day Golden Week, with 3 October also marking a new daily record for a Golden Week in October.
The Golden Week holiday takes place twice a year for Chinese citizens – once around the Lunar New Year and once around the National Day. First introduced in 1999, many people make use of the time to travel, to visit family and to take part in leisure activities. Even though the Chinese increasingly travel long-distance during this period, many also stay within China or visit more nearby destinations such as Macao.
This year, Macao welcomed 916,215 visitors during the first six days of the holiday, which often takes place in October and sometimes coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival. Numbers from the Government Tourism Office confirm 792,927 arrivals between 1 and 5 October, while preliminary data from the city’s Public Security Police for 6 October show an extra 123,288 arrivals. The daily average for the first five days thus stands at 158,585 visitors, with a record-breaking 174,234 visitors arriving on 3 October.
Citizens from mainland China and Hong Kong represent the most important influx. Between 1 and 5 October, mainland visitors represented 678,067 arrivals or a percentage of 85.5%. According to data from the Macao Government Tourism Office, travellers from Hong Kong accounted for 79,895 arrivals or a percentage of 10.1%.
During the Golden Week holiday, many businesses in Macao welcome nearly one million visitors, which greatly benefits from the high visitor numbers. The Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association reported a 95% occupancy rate during the holiday week. However, according to the chairman of the Federal General Commercial Association of Macau SMEs, Andy Wu, not all businesses were able to reach their pre-pandemic transaction volumes. This suggests that small and medium-sized businesses should find ways to attract young clients. Additionally, there was a “record-breaking” volume of bets in Macao’s premium mass betting segment during this National Day Golden Week holiday, as indicated by a survey conducted by Citigroup.
