Macao visitor arrivals exceed 3.5 million in July, up 2.4 percent year-on-year

Macao welcomed around 3.54 million visitor arrivals in July 2026, a 2.4 percent rise in comparison to the roughly 3.45 million logged in July 2025. Despite this, overnight visitors dropped by 2.9 percent to 1.43 million, while the average stay decreased by 0.1 day to 1.1 days, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service. 

Of the total, approximately 2.1 million were same-day visitors (+6.4 percent) and around 1.43 million overnight visitors (-2.9 percent). 

Where did Macao’s visitors in July come from? 

By domestic source markets, mainland Chinese travellers made up the bulk of the SAR’s overall visitor arrival numbers in July, with a total of around 2.7 million visitors, up 5.4 percent. The Hong Kong market contributed 561,713 tourists (-10.2 percent), while Taiwan registered 104,833 visitors (+13.9 percent). 

[See more: Macao’s visitor numbers climb in first half of 2026]

Meanwhile, 174,469 international tourists entered Macao in July, dropping 1.9 percent year-on-year. Major markets included the Philippines, which recorded 32,865 visitors (-13.3 percent), and South Korea, which reported 27,531 visitors (-14.7 percent). 

Thailand accounted for 12,081 visitors, down 2.2 percent, while India logged 10,261 visitors, up 66.4 percent.

The US was a major contributor to the long-haul market in July, with 15,859 visitors (+0.4 percent), almost three times more than those from Canada (4,954). 

How did Macao’s tourism sector fare in the first seven months of 2026?

Overall, some 24.48 million visitors made their way to Macao between January and July 2026, an increase of 8 percent over the same period last year. 

Almost 15 million of these travellers took day trips in Macao (+13.9 percent), with the remaining 9.48 million choosing to stay overnight (-0.3 percent). On average, visitors remained in the SAR for 1 day (-0.1 day), while overnight visitors stayed for 2.3 days, a figure that is consistent with last year’s. 

International visitors represented roughly 1.6 million of the total number of travellers entering Macao during the initial seven months of 2026, an increase of 5.1 percent over the same period last year. 

Why were Macao’s July visitor numbers sluggish at first? 

Speaking to local media outlets on 21 August 2026, the director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, noted that Macao’s visitor arrival numbers were somewhat “slow to warm up,” but nonetheless “satisfactory” during the summer holiday. 

“This year, there was FIFA World Cup fever, which may have resulted in everyone following the games for the first half of the month and slightly postponing their outbound trips or travel times,” she explained. “But we can see, the tourism figure remained high after mid-July, with basically more than 100,000 visitors entering Macao daily.” 

She also mentioned that Macao’s tourism figure was able to remain stable, as the city had not yet faced any severe impact from typhoons. 

Which major events will draw visitors to Macao by the end of 2026? 

Senna Fernandes expressed confidence that Macao would attract different types of visitors between now and the end of 2026 due to a slew of major events that are scheduled. 

They include the 34th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest, which will take place between September and October, the Macao International Music Festival (October), the 31st Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (21 to 24 October), the 73rd Macau Grand Prix (19 to 22 November) and Light Up Macao (December). 

Ultimately, Macao is forecasting a cumulative visitor arrival figure of 41 million in 2026, of which 3 million are international tourists.