Macau visitor numbers on the rise but still well short of 2019

CHINA (MACAU). Total visitor arrivals to the traditional travel retail hotspot of Macau rose by +53.5% year-on-year in February to 655,505, according to the Macao Government Tourism Office.

Due to ongoing strict travel restrictions into Macau, almost all the arrivals (92.9%) were from Mainland China. Visitor numbers from the Mainland increased by +60.1% to 609,249.

The numbers are still just 18.5% of the total in pre-pandemic February 2019. In that month the Special Administrative Region attracted 3,545,701 visitors, of whom 2,559,144 were from the Mainland. In February 2019 Macau also drew 86,179 Korean visitors – a market that has since dried up due to the travel restrictions.

Source: Macau Government Tourism Office; Click to expand

Macau continues to keep the pandemic at bay. As of 29 March, it had only seen 82 confirmed local cases since the COVID-19 outbreak began. The Macau government announced this week that only double-dosed vaccinated travellers from foreign countries will be able to enter from 3 April. The same edict was already in place for those entering from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Only those entering Macau from the Mainland are not covered by the COVID-19 inoculation requirement.

The Macau Daily Times reports the government’s new edict as the Special Administrative Region seeks to balance the dual need to welcome more tourists and to keep COVID at bay. Click on the image to read the full story.
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