Just over 3.57 million visitors have entered the territory so far this year, with the Autumn Golden Week maintaining the year-on-year trend of decline. 

Macau casinos' gross gaming revenue for the first nine months of 2020 totals almost MOP38.61bn (US$4.8bn), an 82.5% decrease from the same period in 2019. 

And Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, says the drop in numbers looks set to continue, particularly given the restrictions in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

“We estimated that, compared with last year, the decline for this year should be over 90%,” she said. 

“The public also would not want to see us relaxing too easily our entry restrictions, because they are still concerned about the pandemic.” 

Current measures mean holders of overseas passports are currently banned from entering the region unless they hold Macau ID, with a mandatory 14-day quarantine providing further difficulty upon entrance. 

Arrivals from Hong Kong must also quarantine for 14 days, as well as provide a certificate for freedom of COVID-19 infection. 

Visitors from China, meanwhile, must also present the certificate if they are to avoid quarantining.