Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said foreign visitors now account for about 5% of the total number of tourists visiting the city, adding it will still take time for international tourism flow to recover.
In an interview with Macao Daily News at an event in the Philippines, Fernandes said the recovery of foreign arrivals had accelerated significantly in the second half of the year.
“The recovery was slow at the beginning of the year, but after June, there was an average of 120,000 foreign arrivals every month,” she said.
“Foreign arrivals accounted for about 10% of total arrivals before the outbreak and have now recovered to about 5%.
“The number of flights this year is lower than before the pandemic and it will take time for international travel to recover, but the situation in Macau is not bad anymore and there is a significant change compared to the beginning of this year.”
On Philippines visitation to Macau, Fernandes said, “As of September, more than 197,000 Philippine tourists have visited Macau.”
According to the latest figures from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), a total of 129,323 foreign tourists arrived in Macau in August, with the Philippines accounting for the largest number of visitors at 26,722.
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