More than 1.5 million international visitors have come to Macao in the first six months of this year, a 46.5 per cent jump over the same period last year. And this does not include the 8.8 million Mainland residents who visited in the same period, the Deputy Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, disclosed this morning. At a press conference entitled “Macao Tourism Industry - Diversified Development & New Challenges”, Ms Fernandes introduced the latest development of Macao’s tourism sector to Mainland and overseas journalists at a press conference in Beijing, together with the Director of Government Information Bureau, Mr Victor Chan Chi Ping. Ms Fernandes said of the more than 1.5 million international visitors, arrivals from East and Southeast Asian countries surged most notably, with growth which ranged from 29 to 82 per cent. The figures showed the increasing diversification of Macao’s tourism market, she said. On exploring tourist markets, she said the Government would continue to break ground in reinforcing the present major visitors base – the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, China – while reaching out to develop international markets. In the first half of this year, the total number of tourist arrivals amounted to 14,925,604, a growth of 18.1 per cent over the same period last year. Visitors from the Mainland were central to Macao’s tourism industry and totalled 8,776,232, making up 58 per cent of the total tourist arrivals in this period. The purchasing power of Mainland visitors was also the highest among all visitors, with a per capita spending of 3,461 patacas - almost double that of other visitors. The number of Mainland tourists who visited Macao under the Facilitated Individual Travel (FIT) scheme totalled 3,736,726, which accounted for 42.6 per cent of total Mainland visitors. Despite the Mainland authorities having started to adjust the FIT scheme last May, the most up-to-date figures showed no signs of decline in the number of Mainland visitors. It is believed that these adjustments provided an opportunity for Macao to refine its strategies in developing a healthier and more rational tourism industry, Ms Fernandes said. As Macao’s tourism industry continued to expand, MGTO would continue to focus on fostering the development of tourism diversity and enhance the economic effects of tourism on the society and economy as a whole.
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