Year-on-year, 30.7% more visitors arrived in Macau in 2021 than in 2020, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the city’s strict entry requirements.

The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) attributed this growth to its “unreserved efforts in organising a variety of mega events and activities.”

Throughout the year, MGTO rolled out various initiatives to improve the city’s image in the eyes of prospective tourists. These included a series of “Macau Weeks” intended to promote the city as a safe and quality destination.

And its efforts appear to have borne fruit. Total visitor arrivals neared 7.71 million in 2021, while the average daily volume of visitors exceeded 21,000.

Visitors’ average length of stay also increased. So-called “overnight-stay” visitors, who constituted 48% of all arrivals, remained in the city for approximately 3.2 days, up 14% from 2020.

People were spending more as well. Figures from Macau’s Statistics and Census Service suggest that total visitor expenditure between January and September 2021 amounted to MOP 94.09bn ($11.7bn), a period-on-period increase of more than 130%.

Going forward, the city has a three-point plan to drive tourism.

“This year, in accordance with three major strategies, MGTO will strive to expand the spectrum of visitor source, push forward tourism recovery and stimulate the community economy,” said MGTO.

“1) enhance online and offline promotions; 2) deepen cross-sector integration of “tourism +” and foster quality tourism development; 3) deepen regional cooperation and enhance destination glamour.”