City Welcomes 890 Thousand Visitors in Golden Week

Macao welcomed more than 890 thousand visitors during the 1^st October Golden Week, posting a year-on-year rise of 7.2 per cent, according to provisional data provided by the Public Security Police Force.

Multiple contributing factors stimulate rise

Macao welcomed a total of 849 thousand visitors from the Greater China markets throughout the 1^st October Golden Week, constituting 94.9 per cent of total visitor arrivals to Macao and an increase of 10.9 per cent from last year. Of these, the number of Mainland visitors increased by 14 per cent to reach 734 thousand, or 82.1 per cent of total visitor arrivals, while visitor arrivals from Hong Kong and Taiwan region dropped by 2.7 per cent and 23.6 per cent, respectively, to 101 thousand and 12 thousand. As for international visitor markets, the number of visitors fell 33.6 per cent to 45 thousand.

The surge in visitor arrivals during this Golden Week holiday was greater than expected, possibly due to the further-enhanced regional transport network and the rich diversity of local festivals and cultural events on offer such as the finale performance of the Macao International Fireworks Display Contest and the Macao International Music Festival 2018. In addition to other favourable factors such as local cuisine and good weather throughout the holiday, more travellers were motivated to visit the territory.

Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) online platform Macao Tourism Data plus (MTD plus) now included new statistical indicators whereby public users could check provisional data about visitation to Macao during the Golden Week period and refer to statistics about visitation to Macao during past Golden Weeks since 2017.

Rising hotel room prices, slight decline in average occupancy

According to figures provided by industry operators, local hotel establishments (hotels and guesthouses) saw an average occupancy rate of 92 per cent during Golden Week, a slight decline of 0.6 percentage points.

Industry figures revealed that the average occupancy rate of 5-star hotels was 94 per cent, down 1 percentage point. The average occupancy rate of 4-star hotels was 90.1 per cent, up 1.4 percentage points. The average occupancy rate of 3-star hotels was 91.1 per cent, down 1.9 percentage points. The average occupancy rate of 2-star hotels was 72.9 per cent, up 0.3 percentage points, whereas the average occupancy rate of guesthouses rose 7.7 percentage points to 78.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the average room rate of hotel establishments (hotels and guesthouses) in Macao was about MOP1942 during Golden Week, a year-on-year increase of 10.1 per cent. The average room rates of 5-star and 4-star hotels approximated MOP2270.3 and MOP1546.1, up 11 per cent and 15.8 per cent, respectively. The average room rates of 3-star and 2-star hotels were around MOP1258.8 and MOP981.3, respectively, a decrease of 5.2 per cent and 9.8 per cent. The average room rate of local guesthouses was around MOP750.6, up 5.9 per cent.

Mobile messaging alerts divert tourists for first time

This year, MGTO partnered with the Public Security Police Force to divert visitor traffic at various tourist attractions by delivering mobile texting messages in accordance with geographic locations for the first time. During Golden Week, MGTO sent a total of four mobile text notifications to visitors in areas such as Praça de Ferreira do Amaral, Nam Van Lake and Rua do Campo, advising them to avoid visiting congested areas at that time. Text messages sent exceeded 35 thousand. In addition, staff at ten tourist locations provided visitors with tourism information and guidance while helping divert the flow of visitors with the objective of minimising their impact upon traffic conditions and neighbourhoods near popular tourist sites, thus maintaining the positive destination image of Macao.

During Golden Week, MGTO conducted 97 inspections at various ports of entry and tourist attractions in Macao, and sealed seven apartments allegedly operating as illegal accommodation. MGTO received a total of 10 visitor complaints, mainly with regard to hotel and travel agency service, taxi charges and service, and so forth. MGTO has followed up on each case or transferred them to relevant departments for resolution.