Macau’s tourism authority says a campaign offering hotel discounts to visitors in tour groups from mainland China and overseas generated bookings worth US$154.2 million in the first 10 months of 2023.
It resulted in more than 994,000 hotel stays in the period, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said in a press release.
The government now wants to build on that initiative by offering a new package of air tickets, hotel rooms and discounts for food and beverages as well as entertainment.
Macau’s secretary for economy and finance, Lei Wai Nong, said that while pre-pandemic the hotel occupancy was about 90%, now “we have about 15,000 more rooms than in 2019,” noting that more work is needed to fill them.
“Next year we will have to do more, based on this year’s results, and we also need to widen the sources of tourists,” Lei said.
He added, “This is why we have budgeted these 250,000 ‘gifts’ to distribute including airfares, hotel lodging and other discounts.”
Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, said that visitors arriving in Macau via Hong Kong will also be eligible for the discount offers.
Senna Fernandes said the offers will not be restricted to luxury hotels but “also include offers in the old neighbourhoods, as well as ferry trips and boat tours”.