Macau experienced a tourism surge over the three-day holiday weekend from December 20 to 22, 2024, with 312,035 visitors entering the city, according to data released by the Public Security Police. The milestone weekend coincided with the 25th anniversary of Macau’s establishment as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) following its handover from Portuguese to Chinese governance. The peak day of visitor arrivals occurred on Sunday, December 22, with 124,518 tourists entering the city.

Macau Celebrates SAR Anniversary with Tourism Boost

While specific data on visitors’ origins was not provided, the majority were reported to have arrived via the Border Gate checkpoint between Macau and mainland China or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. The holiday season in Macau aligns with official breaks in the city and Hong Kong, two key markets for its tourism sector, though it is not observed as a holiday in mainland China.

As of early December, Macau had already recorded over 32.5 million tourist arrivals in 2024, representing a 25.7% increase compared to the previous year. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), expressed optimism about achieving 33 million visitors for the year. “The question is whether we can reach further at 34 million, or a bit more. Hopefully, within the remaining half of this month we’ll have good news to tell,” she commented earlier in the month, according to GGRAsia.

Visitor numbers for November alone reached 2.83 million, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). This marked a 9.6% year-on-year increase but a 9.7% decline compared to October. Notably, arrivals in November recovered to 97.3% of pre-pandemic levels from 2019. Mainland China continued to dominate as the primary source of visitors, with 1.97 million arrivals in November, an 11% year-on-year increase.

Hong Kong followed as the second-largest market with 554,053 visitors, while Taiwan saw a significant 29.3% increase, reaching 71,280 arrivals. International visitor numbers also rose, with the Philippines and South Korea leading the charge, reporting year-on-year increases of 22% and 61.1%, respectively.

International tourism and travel trends:

International arrivals to Macau have shown a strong recovery, with 241,057 visitors recorded in November—a 20.9% year-on-year increase. Key growth markets included the United States, which saw an 18.3% rise to 16,218 arrivals. Cumulatively, international arrivals for the first 11 months of 2024 totaled over 2.13 million, a 74.5% increase year-on-year, though still trailing pre-pandemic figures by 24.2%.

The modes of arrival also reflected varied growth trends. Land entries increased by 10.3% year-on-year to 2.27 million in November, while sea arrivals rose marginally by 0.4% to 312,614. Air travel saw the highest growth, increasing 16.5% to 250,956 arrivals.

The SAR’s impressive holiday weekend performance underscores Macau’s strong rebound as a global tourism hub. Fernandes remains confident about achieving high hotel occupancy rates during the festive season and anticipates further growth driven by Macau’s strategic connectivity and proximity to major markets.