The total number of tourist arrivals to Macau from February 15 to February 20 inclusive rose by 7.9 percent compared to the equivalent period of Chinese New Year in 2017. The total tally stood at 826,377, according to the latest figures reported by the Macao Government Tourism Office.
A total of 73.8 percent of the arrivals in the period – amounting to 609,982 instances – were by visitors from mainland China, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent for that group.
The first day of the current Chinese New Year fell on February 16 (Friday).
The peak of visitor arrivals to Macau during Chinese New Year so far was recorded on February 18 –the third day of the festive period – when more than 185,000 visitors entered the city.
The figures were recorded by Macau’s Public Security Police, and measured the number of tourists passing through border checkpoints around the city.
The Chinese New Year period is usually a peak season for Macau’s gaming industry as hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese tourists take advantage of the week-long break to visit the city.
Investment analysts however have noted in previous commentary on Macau that there need not be a direct correlation between numbers of tourists to Macau and gaming spend in casinos. This is because research indicates that high-stakes play by a relatively small number of visitors is still an important component of the market.
