Total arrivals reached nearly 3.5 million for the month, driven by strong growth from mainland Chinese travellers
Macao visitor numbers rise in May as same-day travel surges
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Macao’s tourism sector saw a positive trend in May, with total visitor arrivals increasing by 3.4 percent year-on-year to 3,487,994, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service. However, while overall visitor figures climbed the average length of stay for tourists fell to one day.
The shift towards short-term visits came as same-day visitor numbers climbed by 7.9 percent to 2,149,311. Conversely, the number of overnight visitors dipped by 3 percent to 1,338,683. Consequently, the average length of stay across all visitors shortened by 0.1 day to 1 day, whilst the average stay for overnight guests remained consistent at 2.3 days.
Mainland China remains the dominant market, with 2,541,802 arrivals – an increase of 4.2 percent compared to the same period last year. Notably, travellers arriving under the Individual Visit Scheme rose by 5.2 percent to 1,377,014. Visitors from Taiwan also showed significant growth, rising by 18.9 percent to 93,701, whereas arrivals from Hong Kong saw a marginal decline of 0.4 percent, totalling 618,341.
[See more: The Greater Bay Area’s unified tourism brand still ‘a work in progress’, experts tell Skål Congress in Macao]
International visitor arrivals totalled 234,150 in May, reflecting a modest growth of 0.8 percent. Performance across specific markets was varied: notably, Thailand saw a sharp increase of 36.1 percent to 20,447 visitors.
Conversely, visitor numbers from the Philippines and Indonesia fell by 11.5 percent and 9.6 percent respectively. Traffic from South Korea decreased by 14.6 percent, while the United States market grew by 10.5 percent to 12,426 arrivals.
For the first five months of 2026, Macao recorded 18,143,294 visitor arrivals, marking an 11.1 percent increase year-on-year. This period saw same-day visitors rise by 17.6 percent to 11,252,584, while overnight visitor numbers grew by 2.0 percent to 6,890,710. Total international arrivals for the year-to-date reached 1,244,042, up by 8.7 percent.
