Observers anticipate international visitors to Macau will rebound to pre-COVID levels this year, thanks to incentives totalling MOP235 million (US$29.2 million). Restored flight routes and visa exemptions from Mainland China are expected to boost demand, especially from Southeast Asia.
By Tony Lai
1.46 million
– No. of international visitors in 2023
Crowded and overflowing scenes across the city during the recent Chinese New Year holiday are a testament to the robust recovery of Macau’s tourism in the post-Covid era, with travellers hailing from different mainland Chinese provinces and cities, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. However, beyond the Greater China region, the rebound is lagging behind at the moment, and the authorities have prepared to roll out more campaigns and offers this year to further diversify the city’s tourist source markets.
Following the lifting of COVID-related travel restrictions and the start of the new 10-year gaming concessionaires in 2023, the Macau government has placed great emphasis on exploring a wider range of tourist source markets beyond Greater China. Northeast and Southeast Asian nations, alongside European countries like Portugal, are some of the key overseas markets the city aims to tap this year, the government has said.
To achieve this goal, the administration is investing MOP235 million (US$29.2 million) this year in promotional campaigns and incentives targeting overseas markets, including 250,000 “gifts” for overseas travellers. In late February, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) unveiled the so-called “My Treats for You” scheme, comprising discounts and special offers for international tourists on air tickets, cross-border transportation, hotel accommodation, dining, entertainment, and show tickets. These offers amount to 250,000 “gifts” that will be given out throughout the year—49 percent of them will be international air ticket discounts presented by several airlines like Air Macau, and 46 percent will be free bus and ferry tickets to Macau from the Hong Kong International Airport.
“The scheme aims to attract a greater influx of international visitors to Macau, offering them rich ‘tourism +’ experiences as part of the efforts to diversify and strengthen the tourism economy,” the MGTO remarked in a statement.
“There is particularly a strong desire among Southeast Asian tourists to visit Macau.”
– Wong Fai, the president of the Macau Leisure Tourism Services Innovation Association
Top 10 overseas markets
These efforts come amidst a resurgence in local tourism. According to the latest government figures, the number of visitors to Macau reached 28.21 million in 2023, a nearly fivefold surge from the previous year and a recovery to 71.6 percent of the pre-Covid volume. Visitors from the Greater China region also rebounded to 73.6 percent of the 2019 level, constituting 94.8 percent of the total visitation count.
On the other hand, the number of international visitors to Macau amounted to 1.46 million in 2023, only recovering to 47.6 percent of the pre-Covid level. The international segment accounted for merely 5.2 percent of the total visitor count in 2023, compared to a share of 7.8 percent in 2019.
The top 10 overseas markets for Macau in 2023 were as follows: the Philippines (with a total of 314,161 visitors, recovering to 74.3 percent of the pre-Covid volume), South Korea (204,604 visitors, 27.5 percent), Indonesia (142,944 visitors, 84 percent), Thailand (102,164 visitors, 67.4 percent), Malaysia (99,851 visitors, 48.4 percent), the United States (93,814 visitors, 47 percent), Singapore (91,863 visitors, 79.4 percent), Japan (75,155 visitors, 25.4 percent), India (58,806 visitors, 46.2 percent), and Canada (40,763 visitors, 54.3 percent).
“We will also work together with overseas and regional airlines to explore more international markets and develop additional direct or connecting flights for long-haul routes.”
– CAM
Surge in Southeast Asian nations
The recovery in the international segments has been slower due to the fact that overseas flight capacity in Macau has yet to return to pre-Covid levels. However, Wong Fai, president of the Macau Leisure Tourism Services Innovation Association, emphasises that the recovery has been gaining momentum in recent months.
The efforts made by the MGTO, gaming operators, and the tourism industry in strengthening their overseas promotions since the second half of last year have enhanced the city’s reputation and attracted visitors, he says. “There is particularly a strong desire among Southeast Asian tourists to visit Macau,” he adds.
Mr. Wong also acknowledges the MGTO’s initiative in offering free ferry and direct bus tickets from Hong Kong to Macau for international visitors. For example, international visitors can book free ferry tickets from Hong Kong to Macau between February 1 and July 31 by presenting their valid travel documents, boarding passes, or electronic receipts that indicate their arrival in Hong Kong within seven days prior to their intended trip to Macau.
“The MGTO will also be highlighting some of [these] special offers offline and online, including on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Kakao,” the office underscored in a statement. “These marketing efforts, paired with the kaleidoscope of events all year round in Macau, are aimed at attracting more international visitors to the city for festive vacations and first-hand experiences of Macau’s latest ‘tourism +’ elements and facilities, boosting visitors’ length of stay and spending for a most robust tourism economy.”
“There is demand in other markets like Southeast Asian nations, and they might visit Macau in conjunction with Mainland China or Hong Kong, particularly the mainland, which has exempted visa requirements for visitors from several Southeast Asian nations.”
– Andy Wu, president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau
Role of Hong Kong
“The Hong Kong International Airport offers a wider selection of international flight routes with higher frequency [compared to the Macau airport]. It provides passengers with more [flight] options in terms of timing and relatively lower costs… making it more convenient for international travellers to travel to Hong Kong before arriving in Macau [than directly travelling to Macau],” Mr. Wong adds.
In addition to special offers on Hong Kong-Macau transportation, he believes that the authorities can simplify customs procedures for international visitors arriving in Macau from Hong Kong. For instance, if they arrive via direct bus through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, they should be allowed to remain on the bus during inspection, further enhancing their overall travel experience.
More flight routes
Meanwhile, the city is actively pursuing the revival and expansion of its aviation networks with other international destinations. According to figures from Macau International Airport Company Limited (CAM), the Macau airport accommodated a total of 5.15 million passengers and 42,504 flight movements in 2023, recovering to 54 percent and 55 percent of the pre-Covid volume, respectively. Currently, there are 26 airlines operating routes to and from Macau, serving 23 destinations in Mainland China, three locations in Taiwan, and 17 international destinations.
“In 2024, the Macau International Airport will continue to align with the Macau SAR Government’s vision for tourism development,” the airport’s operator said in a statement. “Efforts will be made to increase flights from Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia and enhance tourism promotion in collaboration with foreign airlines.”
For example, China Southern Airlines plans to commence flights in the first quarter from Istanbul and Moscow to Beijing with a transit stop in Macau, connecting the city to European and Middle Eastern destinations. During the same period, AirAsia Cambodia intends to operate daily flights between Phnom Penh and Macau. Furthermore, Cambodia Airways will introduce charter flights from Phnom Penh to Palau via Macau, and VietJet Air plans to offer daily flights between Haiphong and Nha Trang in Vietnam and Macau.
“We will also work together with overseas and regional airlines to explore more international markets and develop additional direct or connecting flights for long-haul routes,” CAM stated, adding that it will allocate more resources and create additional incentive policies for airlines operating international and medium- to long-haul direct routes. Korean Air also plans to utilise wide-body aircraft for flights between Seoul and Macau, while local carrier Air Macau is set to introduce its first wide-body aircraft in March, thereby “strengthening the Macau International Airport’s overall competitiveness in international aviation routes,” CAM added.
Visa exemptions
With the gradual restoration of aviation networks, promotions, and special offers, the government anticipates that the number of international visitors this year could double from last year and recover to the 2019 level, reaching approximately 3 million travellers. Andy Wu Keng Kuong, president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, believes that this can be achieved with the full resumption of air routes.
“For visitors from certain international markets like Japan, they might have less willingness to travel in the near future due to exchange rates,” he explains. “However, there is demand in other markets like Southeast Asian nations, and they might visit Macau in conjunction with Mainland China or Hong Kong, particularly the mainland, which has exempted visa requirements for visitors from several Southeast Asian nations.” China has entered into mutual visa exemption agreements with various countries in the past few months, including Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia.
“I am optimistic that local tourism can maintain the momentum of robust recovery this year,” he adds.
