Fernandes was speaking on the sidelines of a public event this week and said the Macau authorities were forecasting the aggregate 2018 visitor tally would reach approximately 35 million, up by 7.4% compared to last year.
In 2017, the aggregate number of visitor arrivals exceeded 32.6 million, an increase of 5.4% from 2016, according to official data.
Macau’s visitor arrivals in the nine months to September 30 rose by 8.3% from the prior-year period to 25.81 million. Mainland Chinese accounted for 70.6% of the aggregate number of visitors in the first nine months this year – or 18.22 million visitors, up by 13.3% year-on-year.
The MGTO director also said that her office was working on plans for Macau to attract more “mid- and long-haul” visitors that might find it convenient to come to the city from Hong Kong International Airport via the recently-opened Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZM). Macau’s airport only handles services that are within a four-hour flight time of the city, defined as short-haul, the official noted.
Currently, passengers and vehicles travelling via the HKZM Bridge from Hong Kong to Macau can enter the city at any time of the day or night via a boundary-crossing facility open 24 hours a day, although several licensed bus services between the two places do not run 24 hours per day.
Source: GMB / GGR Asia
