Golden Week Arrivals Hit 1.143 Million, Up 15.5 Percent: Hotels Averaged 91.3 Percent Occupancy
MACAO — The Macao Government Tourism Office released preliminary figures for the mainland's National Day holiday on October 8: total visitor arrivals from October 1 to 7 reached 1.143 million, a daily average of 163,000 and a year-on-year rise of 15.5 percent in the daily average. Arrivals on October 4 alone hit 210,000, and both the daily average and the single-day figure set records for a National Day holiday since records began.
By source market, the holiday brought 972,000 visitors from the mainland, 119,000 from Hong Kong, 12,000 from Taiwan region and 39,000 international visitors. Mainland arrivals averaged 139,000 a day, up 19.6 percent year on year — growing faster than the overall total and remaining the backbone of Macao's holiday tourism. The Public Security Police reported total border movements of about 5.245 million over the seven days; across the full 13-day Mid-Autumn and National Day break from September 25 to October 7, arrivals approached 1.871 million, with the Hengqin checkpoint clearing 936,000 travellers.
Hotels shared in the growth. Industry figures put average occupancy at 91.3 percent during the holiday, up 3.1 percentage points on a year earlier, peaking at 97.0 percent on October 2. Average room rates were about MOP 1,677.3, down 1.7 percent year on year. Zhang Jianzhong, president of the Macao Hotel and Tourism Chamber of Commerce, said occupancy stayed high through the early and middle parts of the holiday while rates remained at a reasonable level, helping to lengthen stays and lift spending.
The Tourism Office said government departments, the trade and community groups had staged a wide range of events celebrating the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, supported by promotions and offers that drew visitors to Macao's diverse tourism-plus products, while stepped-up inspections protected visitor rights. The trade said family trips, cultural exploration, leisure experiences and community food tours all proved popular, feeding the community economy and reinforcing Macao's standing as a leisure destination.
Sources: Compiled from the Tourism Office's October 8 Golden Week release, Public Security Police figures, and China News Service and People's Daily Overseas Edition reporting.
Source: 澳门特区政府旅游局
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：澳门大三巴牌坊前石阶上游人云集。摄影：Michal Osmenda，CC BY 2.0，取自 Wikimedia Commons
