written and last updated by
Sam Smith at
20 Jun 2023
Journalist, Editorial Department
According to the Statistics and Census Service of Macau, the only gambling zone in China welcomed 2,213,807 visitors in May 2023. This marks a staggering 270% increase compared to the same month last year. However, the number of visitors saw a slight decline of 2.6% compared to April 2023. Nevertheless, May became the fifth consecutive month in which tourist numbers exceeded 1 million since the pandemic forced Macau to close its borders in 2020. The rise in arrivals is attributed to the easing of entry restrictions and the resumption of air and land travel.
As is customary, the majority of tourists came from mainland China, with numbers soaring by 174% to 1,474,304 visitors in May. Among them, 840,797 traveled independently, a remarkable 377% increase from May 2022. Visitors from the nine cities in the Greater Bay Area saw a 77.2% rise, totaling 715,941. Of these, 27.1% (193,944) arrived from Zhuhai, and 21% (150,260) from Guangzhou. The number of visitors from Hong Kong (601,991) and Taiwan (31,537) surged by 962.3% and 473.7%, respectively.
In contrast, the growth in foreign tourists has stalled. Excluding Taiwan and Hong Kong, Macau welcomed over 105,975 international guests in May, a 1.9% decrease from April.
According to immigration statistics, the Philippines remains the leading source of international tourists. In May, Macau received 21,660 visitors from the Philippines, followed by 13,177 from Indonesia, 7,329 from Thailand, and 6,891 from the United States. There was also a significant increase in arrivals from South Korea, which rose by 61.3%. The total number of South Korean visitors jumped from 8,095 in April 2023 to 13,057 in May.
Notably, in Sweden, 77% of users engage with legal gambling sites.
