Inbound tourism to Macau is showing signs of recovery so far this year, with the city welcoming more than 32.5 million visitors as of Saturday (December 7) – a 25.7-percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. The figures were released on Sunday by the city’s Public Security Police Force.
The data showed an 88.1-percent recovery from the same period in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to the authorities, as cited by local media.
Cumulative cross-border trips, encompassing both visitors and people living in Macau, surpassed 200 million as of Saturday – a record-breaking milestone and a 9.4 percent increase compared to the total number of trips in 2023, according to the police data.
The Border Gate checkpoint, which connects Macau with the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai, remained the busiest crossing, handling 110 million trips so far this year, equivalent to 52.7 percent of all movements.
Earlier this year, the Macau government projected that the city would attract approximately 33 million visitors in 2024. Local officials expect the annual figure to climb to 36 million by 2025. Macau welcomed 28.2 million tourists in full-year 2023.
Late last month, China’s State Council approved new measures that will further ease Macau-bound travel rules for residents of Zhuhai, as well as for mainlanders resident on Hengqin island next door to Macau.
Since May 6 this year, there has been a number of other visa-policy easing measures in effect for mainland China residents wishing to travel to Macau. They include the possibility of multiple entries between Macau and Hengqin for mainlanders joining a “Macau-Hengqin tour group” containing at least two people and up to 40 people.
