The Macau hotel-sector occupancy rate for the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY) festivities might beat the 95 percent average for the equivalent holiday period last year, says Andy Wu Keng Kuong, Macau Travel Industry Council president. He added that hotels in Cotai – within casino resort complexes there – were likely to be the “most popular” choice for travellers. His comments were to Chinese-language news outlet Macao Daily News.
He stated that while Cotai hotels – most of them in the five-star category – have an asking price of “MOP4,000” (US$499) to “MOP5,000” a night during the upcoming festive period, they would in likelihood be the accommodation preferred by “most visitors”.
Lower-priced and lower-tier hotels were also expected to attract a “huge volume” of patrons in the Chinese New Year break, suggested Mr Wu.
China’s State Council has declared the mainland holiday – this time marking the Year of the Snake – as an eight-day period running from January 28 to February 4 inclusive.
During last year’s festivities – from February 10 to 17, 2024 – Macau’s average daily visitor arrival tally was almost 170,000, according to data from Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). The average hotel occupancy rate at that time was 95.2 percent.
On Friday MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said this Chinese New Year visitor volume was forecast to reach “185,000″ daily on average.
Mr Wu suggested in his remarks to Macao Daily News, that would be a “conservative” estimate.
The tourism industry representative suggested that what he termed recent incidents in Southeast Asia – understood to refer to the safety of Chinese people – could affect the appeal of Thailand to Chinese tourists during the upcoming holiday season, an make them opt for places closer to home. That was aside from the positive effect on the Macau tourism trade, of the easing of Macau-bound travel visa policy for residents of nearby Zhuhai, in Guangdong province.
Thailand’s Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, said on Friday that her country was still a safe destination for tourists, amid reports that Thailand had been used as a route to traffic foreign nationals – including Chinese – that had been tricked into working at scam centres in neighbouring Myanmar.
