Macau lunar new year visitors up 10% over first four days

Macau casinos are celebrating after starting off the Year of the Dog more like a mighty mastiff than a wimpy Chihuahua.

According to initial stats released by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the number of visitors descending on the special administrative region of China over the first four days (Feb. 15-18) of the Lunar New Year holiday is up 10% year-on-year to just over 500k.

Visitors from Mainland China accounted for 354k (70.8%) of the arrivals, representing an 18.5% improvement over the first four days of the 2017 Lunar New Year.

Last week, MGTO boss Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes predicted that total visitation over the weeklong New Year holiday period would be 1-3% higher than last year’s 935k visitors.