Macau registers slight increase in CNY arrivals despite cold weather

MACAU – Macau welcomed almost 720,000 visitors during the Chinese New Year “Golden Week” holiday (Lunar New Year Eve to 6th day of Lunar Year), a slight growth of 0.45 percent over the same period in 2007. More than 390,000 or 54 percent of the arrivals were from Mainland China, a growth of 1.03 percent. During the period, an average of over 13,000 hotel rooms were rented out per day, a surge of 23 percent.

From February 6 to 14, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Provincial Tourism Administrations of Guangdong and Fujian have jointly operated the “Chinese New Year Tourism Notifying System” to ensure enjoyable holidays for visitors.



Starting from this year, the 7-day Chinese New Year “Golden Week” holiday begins on New Year’s Eve instead of the 1st day of Lunar Year. According to traditions, Chinese stay home for family dinners on New Year’s Eve and seldom go traveling, which might affect the number of arrivals to Macau this year aside from the cold weather and traffic woes that put off tourists.