Macau, China, Jan. 23, 2026 (Lusa) - Macau welcomed more than 40 million visitors in 2025, a new record high, surpassing the previous record of 39.4 million set in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, it was announced on Friday.
The number of tourists who visited the territory last year was the highest since the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) began compiling monthly data in 1998, during the Portuguese administration.
Macau welcomed a total of almost 40.1 million visitors, 14.7% more than in 2024 and above the target of 39 million set on 16 December by the director of Macau Tourism Services, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.
However, almost 59% of visitors (23.5 million) arrived on organised tours and spent less than a day in Macao last year.
In 2024, the Central Government announced a series of measures to support the territory, such as increasing the tax exemption limit for personal goods purchased by visitors from China.
At the same time, the Chinese authorities have extended the list of places with "individual visas" to visit Hong Kong and Macao to 10 more cities in China.
In addition, since 1 January 2025, residents of the neighbouring city of Zhuhai have been able to visit Macao once a week and stay for up to seven days.
As a result, the overwhelming majority (90.6%) of tourists arriving in Macao in November came from mainland China or Hong Kong.
On 16 December, Senna Fernandes pointed out that the number of international visitors had recovered to around 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
In August, she had set a target of more than three million international tourists in 2025.
However, Macao fell short of this target, with 2.76 million visitors from abroad, still an increase of 13.7% compared to 2024.
Citizens of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman are now exempt from visa requirements to enter the city as of 16 July.
On 16 December, Senna Fernandes recalled that the Government Action Lines (GAL) for 2026 provide for the opening of two Macao delegations in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.
The GAL, presented at the end of November, foresee the opening of a delegation in Malaysia and also point to the focus on tourists from Portuguese-speaking countries as a priority.
In December alone, Macao received 3.58 million visitors, 17.8% more than in the same period in 2024 and the highest figure ever for this month.
The city thus recorded a new historic high for December, after already doing so for the months of September (3.8 million), October (3.47 million) and November (3.35 million).
VQ/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
