Macau’s tally of visitors reached 81,798 for the seven days from August 12 to August 18 inclusive – a daily average of about 11,685 – said the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in a Monday update.
It represented an increase of circa 56 percent from the preceding seven days, when Macau only received an average of 7,490 visitors daily, stated the tourism bureau.
The aggregate for Saturday (August 20) – at over 17,000 – was a “single-day record” since a seven-day quarantine rule was lifted from August 3, for outbound travel to neighbouring Zhuhai, according to MGTO. Zhuhai is normally a key overland gateway for mainland tourists entering and exiting Macau.
Visitor volume to Macau in July was only 9,759, coinciding with the city experiencing a community outbreak of Covid-19.
The alert started on June 18 and it took more than a month for the authorities to bring the outbreak under control. Countermeasures included a city-wide suspension of several leisure and recreational businesses, and a 12-day shutdown in July of the city’s casinos.
Leisure and recreation facilities, including those housed inside the city’s casino resorts, were only permitted to reopen in early August.
To date, mainland China remains the only place that has a largely quarantine-free travel arrangement with Macau. In a statement issued on Friday, MGTO said it was resuming promotion of Macau as a travel destination, targeting mainland Chinese consumers.
