Macau experienced its first yearly drop in visitor arrivals since the January 2023 Covid-19 reopening, with February 2025 seeing just 3.15m visitors.
According to the Statistics and Census Service, the figure was a 4.4 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year.
Authorities attribute this decline primarily to the significantly higher baseline set in February 2024, which benefited from an extended eight-day Chinese New Year holiday in mainland China.
While overall numbers fell, a closer look reveals a divergence in visitor source trends. Mainland Chinese arrivals saw a 6.4 per cent year-over-year decrease, totaling 2.29m, with Individual Visit Scheme travelers declining by 11.1 per cent to 1.3m. Notably, within this group, 120,002 visitors traveled under the “one trip per week measure,” 30,677 under the “multiple-entry measure" and 9,262 under the “tourist group multi-entry measure,” reflecting the impact of China’s new visa policies for neighbouring cities.
Source: Asia Gaming Brief
