Golden Week Not Expected to Increase Number of Tourists to Macau

Written on September 23, 2008 by a2zMacau

Three consecutive days of Mid-Autumn holidays did not bring any increase in the number of tourists to Macau, according to Wu Keng Kuong, president of board of directors of Travel Industry Council of Macau.

Mr Wu said that the number of tourists had remained similar to that of the previous year, saying that the flow of tourists was about the same as during a regular weekend.

Meanwhile he added that the number of Macau residents taking package tours to travel during the festival did not see any surge even though there was three consecutive days of holidays.

“I don’t think there were any increases in package tours due to Chinese traditions that are supposed to hold family members together on the Moon Festival,” said Mr Wu.

The president also speculated that October 1, also widely known as Golden Week, would not bring another rosy boost in the number of tourists to Macau.

“I expect the flow of tourists would be decreased from that of the same holiday last year,” he went on, saying that the reason was due to the new restrictions of the Individual Travel Pass that separated the visa process between Hong Kong and Macau.

Meanwhile he added that “this was also because of endorsement visas in South Asian countries being reduced to 144 days due to the commencement of the Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing.”

In addition, the number of departures that were recorded by the Public Security Police Force (PSP), up until 17:00 pm yesterday, was approximately 101,000.

Of the 101,000, the total number of people that departed Macau through the Inner Harbour Terminal and Pac On Ferry Terminal was around 21,000.

The number of arrivals in contrast was also recorded as being approximately 100,000 with about 17,800 tourists having entered either from Inner Harbour Terminal or Pac On Ferry Terminal.