MACAU TOURISM IS UP...480%

Official figures indicate that the territory of Macau tourism experienced a significant surge in visitor numbers in June, registering a staggering 480% increase compared to the same month last year. Despite this remarkable growth, visitors are still lower than the three million recorded in June 2019, before the pandemic struck. The Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC), which compiles local tourism data, reported that Macau welcomed 11.6 million visitors in the first six months of the year, The majority (1.4 million) traveling from neighboring mainland China. Notably, these figures represent a 236.1% increase compared to last year. However, it is still less than half of the number of visitors in the first half of 2019, as highlighted by DSEC. It is worth noting that Macau, like China, implemented the "zero covid" policy, which was only lifted in December 2022. Following this, most prevention and containment measures have been lifted, marking the end of almost three years of rigorous restrictions.