Macao visitor arrivals pass 30-million milestone

Macao visitor arrivals in 2026 reached 30 million as of 11 September 2026, 22 days earlier than when the benchmark was surpassed in 2025. 

According to the Public Security Police Force (PSP), this total averages to 119,000 visitors per day between January and August, up 8 percent year-on-year. Notably, the visitor arrival count reached its highest-ever single day figure on the second day of the Labour Day holiday period, with police figures putting the total at 247,000 on 2 May 2026.

Where are most of Macao’s tourists coming from? 

By market, mainland China dominated during the first eight months of 2026, supplying Macao with approximately 21.54 million tourists, or 74.4 percent of the total share. This number represents a 10 percent increase year-on-year. 

Hong Kong contributed roughly 4.87 million visitor arrivals (16.8 percent), down 1.8 percent against the first eight months of 2025. Meanwhile, Taiwan accounted for some 780,000 travellers (2.7 percent), up 21.7 percent year-over-year. 

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

Looking at the overseas market, approximately 1.76 million international visitors entered Macao between January and August 2026. This total made up 6.1 percent of the overall visitor arrival volume, a 3.4 percent rise in comparison to the same period in 2025. 

South Korea was Macao’s largest international market over this period, with a total of roughly 340,000 visitors. In second and third places were the Philippines (330,000 visitors) and Thailand (140,000 visitors), followed by Indonesia (110,000) and the US (100,000 visitors).

How many passengers has the Macao airport handled so far in 2026?

Traffic flow via the Macao International Airport has been on the rise as well, according to its marketing director, Eric Fong. Speaking to local broadcaster TDM on 11 September 2026, Fong said the airport had handled approximately 5.21 million passengers in the initial eight months of 2026, up 5.6 percent year-on-year. 

Flights through the airport hit roughly 38,000 over this period, a rise of 0.3 percent in comparison to the same period in 2025. Southeast Asian services have been particularly popular, with the airport reporting a year-over-year rise of 13 percent.

Will Macao airport add new routes in 2026?

Moving forward, Fong expects the passenger and flight numbers to continue increasing during the fourth quarter of 2026.

He added that the airport operator was currently in talks with an Indonesian airline to restart flights between Macao and the Southeast Asian country. The airport is also planning to hold talks with major carriers in Macao and mainland China to leverage their transit networks in order to allow passengers flying out of Macao to travel to Europe, the US and Russia by transferring in mainland China. 

How many visitors is Macao expecting during the upcoming holidays? 

The Macao government has yet to announce its visitor arrival forecasts for the Mid-Autumn Festival (25 to 27 September 2026) and National Day (1 to 7 October 2026) holidays in mainland China. However, the city has traditionally seen a major influx of tourists during these periods. 

During the “golden week” break between 1 and 8 October 2025, Macao welcomed around 1.14 million visitor arrivals. This included a daily average of 143,000 tourists (up 1.9 percent year-on-year), as well as a single-day top figure of 191,000 travellers, both of which are records for the National Day period. 

For its part, the PSP said it was already preparing for the impending holiday by boosting border control coordination with the Macao Customs Service and the border control agencies in Zhuhai and Hong Kong. 

It added that it was dispatching more law enforcement officials to tourist hotspots and would implement crowd control measures accordingly. 

What is Macao’s visitor arrival target in 2026? 

For 2026, the Macao government has set a target of 41 million visitor arrivals, an increase over the city’s all-time record of 40.07 million visitor arrivals in 2025. 

The figures were shared by the head of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes during the 55th Skål International Asia Congress in June 2026. 

She noted that her department was aiming to attract 3 million international visitors in 2026, a rise of around 9 percent from 2025’s 2.7 million. With the overseas number standing at 1.76 million as of August, the 3 million target may not be achievable, unless there is significant fourth-quarter growth. 

In a separate interview in August 2026, Senna Fernandes said she believed the various events that Macao has arranged for the remainder of 2026, including the 34th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest, would allow it to attract a variety of travellers.