Macao's Visitor Arrivals Surpassed 30.7 Million in 2015
MGTO announced several tourism indicators for last year in its annual press conference
Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has announced that total visitor arrivals to Macao last year reached 30.7 million, registering a slight drop of 2.6 per cent vis-a-vis 2014. The number of visitors from the Greater China markets topped 27 million, posting a decrease of 2.4 per cent, whilst the total number of international visitors dropped by 3.9 per cent.
The Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan region again ranked as the top three visitor markets to Macao, which welcomed over 20.4 million Mainland visitors last year, down 4 per cent. Some 44 per cent of Mainland visitors came from Guangdong Province. For the Hong Kong and Taiwan region markets, an increase of 1.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent was recorded, respectively. As for international visitor arrivals, the number of visitors from the Philippines and the United States increased 5.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively, with the countries ranking 6th and 8th largest source markets for Macao.
MGTO revealed that the average length of stay for overnight visitors was 2.1 days throughout the year, an increase of 0.2 days. Total overnight visitors to Macao exceeded 14.3 million, which constituted 46.6 per cent of total visitor arrivals, a year-on-year decrease of 1.8 per cent. According to preliminary figures, last year's total number of overnight guests of hotel establishments, on the other hand, decreased by 2 per cent to over 10 million. Visitor expenditure between January and September 2015 totalled US$26.3 billion, a period-on-period decrease of 36.4 per cent.
The average occupancy rate of hotel establishments in Macao in 2015 was 81 per cent, down 6 per cent year-on-year, based on preliminary figures. The average room rate of 3 to 5-star hotels was US$187, down by 7.8 per cent. As of today, there are 110 hotels in Macao supplying 33,047 rooms in total, including 46 budget accommodation establishments operating 1,506 rooms all together.
MGTO's Tourist Information counters handled over 1.3 million visitor enquiries, material requests and suggestions last year. In addition, over 2,300 participant-times joined industry training courses and workshops supported or facilitated by MGTO in 2015. Since the launch of the 'Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme' (QTSAS) in 2014, MGTO has conferred the Star Merchant Award on 167 catering businesses, including 84 award winners last year.
Regarding measures combating illegal accommodation, the interdepartmental task force inspected over 1,100 apartment-times and sealed 153 apartments throughout the year; the Office also submitted an analytical report on proposed amendment to the law on 'Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation', in addition to an exchange of ideas and information with residents and community associations via face to face meetings.
Airport Posts New Record with 5.8m Travellers
The growth of passenger traffic at Macau International Airport (MIA) continues apace with a record 5.83 million last year equating to an increase of 6.4 per cent. Passenger load from the Taiwan region and Southeast Asia and North Asia routes increased 9.6 per cent and 11.4 per cent, respectively. Mainland China route passengers, however, decreased 1.4 per cent. Of the three primary markets, 40 per cent originated from Southeast Asia and North Asia routes, while those from Mainland China (33 per cent) and the Taiwan region (27 per cent) totalled 60 per cent.
MIA accommodated over 55,000 aircraft movements in 2015, up 6 per cent year-on-year. The volume of cargo surpassed 30,000 tons to record a 4.5 per cent increase compared to last year. In addition, MIA successfully attracted nine new airlines; namely, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Capital Airlines, Jeju Air, MEGA Maldives Airlines, t'way Airlines, Asia Atlantic Airlines, Bassaka Air and Siam Air, and inaugurated eight new routes to Macao. These were Haikou and Wanzhou in China, Ho Chi Minh City and Haiphong in Vietnam, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, the Maldives, Palau, and Pattaya in Thailand. As of now, MIA accommodates 30 airlines and operates 43 routes.