Macau Hits 30 Million Visitors 22 Days Faster Than Last Year

Macau passed 30 million visitor arrivals for 2026 at 11 a.m. on September 11. That's 22 days earlier than last year, and it puts the world's biggest gaming hub on track for another record year.

Macau's Public Security Police Force confirmed the milestone. It said visitor numbers show "stable growth" and credited visa policies from Beijing and a busy summer travel season. Arrivals so far are about 8% higher than at the same point in 2025.

Last year was already a record. Macau welcomed nearly 40.07 million visitors in 2025, up 14.7% from 2024 and above the 39.4 million pre-pandemic high set in 2019. Since this year's arrivals are running ahead of that, a new annual record looks likely.

The gap over last year has been widening as 2026 goes on. Police said the city crossed 20 million arrivals on June 20, 18 days sooner than in 2025; the 30 million mark then came 22 days early. In June, authorities were projecting visitor growth of 5% to 8% for the full year, and last year's record also came with an all-time high of about 235 million border crossings, up 9.8%.

Mainland China Drives the Growth

From January to August, Macau recorded about 28.95 million arrivals. Visitors from mainland China made up nearly three out of four:

Growth in the mainland market was helped by easier exit-visa rules that Beijing introduced in 2025 for residents of neighbouring Zhuhai, which made short trips across the border much simpler. Hong Kong, the second-largest source, was the only major market to shrink.

Taiwan grew fastest, with about 780,000 arrivals. International visitors rose more slowly, to 1.76 million. The top countries were South Korea (about 340,000), the Philippines (about 330,000) and Thailand (about 140,000).

The government wants that segment to grow faster. Acting tourism office director Si Tou Lam Lai said in early September that Macau is aiming for average annual growth of about 5% in international arrivals between 2026 and 2030, under its Third Five-Year Plan, with more promotion in Europe, the United States, Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries and Muslim markets. Since 2024, Macau has also offered free transport from Hong Kong for international travellers arriving through Hong Kong International Airport.

Zhuhai Permits Reshape Cross-Border Trips

The Zhuhai rule change took effect on January 1, 2025. Before it, Zhuhai residents could apply to visit Macau only once every two months. Under the new system they can make one trip a week and stay up to seven days, while residents of Hengqin, the zone next to Macau, can obtain permits that allow repeated visits. China's National Immigration Administration said it issued about 353,000 weekly permits to Zhuhai residents and around 29,000 multiple-entry permits for Hengqin in the first nine months of 2025.

Easier trips have also changed how people visit. Data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) show that, in the first seven months of 2026, same-day visitors rose 13.9% to almost 15 million, while overnight visitors slipped 0.3% to about 9.49 million. The average stay shortened to 1.1 days. In July alone, overnight arrivals fell 2.9% even as total arrivals grew 2.4% to 3.54 million.

Busy Summer, Busier Airport

January to August averaged just over 119,000 visitors a day. August alone brought about 4.46 million arrivals, up 5.7% on August 2025. The busiest single day so far was May 2, during the Labour Day holiday, with about 247,000 arrivals.

The airport is growing too. Macau International Airport handled 5.21 million passengers in the first eight months, up 5.6%. Twenty-five airlines fly to 43 destinations, and 38% of those are in mainland China.

The airport also handled about 38,000 flights in the eight months, up 0.3%, with flights to and from Southeast Asia rising 13%. Eric Fong Hio Kin, marketing director of the airport's concessionaire, said he expects flight and passenger numbers to keep rising in the fourth quarter. He acknowledged that swings in oil prices had led some airlines to adjust or cancel services, and said the airport was talking with an Indonesian airline about restoring routes to Indonesia.

Casino Revenue Lags Behind Visitor Growth

Visitor numbers and casino takings have not moved in step this summer. According to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, gross gaming revenue in August was MOP21.89 billion, down 1.2% year on year but 8.1% higher than July's MOP20.26 billion. July revenue had fallen 8.4%, with the FIFA World Cup, played in North America from June 11 to July 19, weighing on demand. Revenue for January to August reached MOP169.05 billion, up 3.7%, a slower pace than the roughly 8% rise in arrivals.

Golden Week Up Next

The next big test is China's National Day holiday, or Golden Week, from October 1 to 7. It is usually one of Macau's busiest weeks of the year and should give arrivals another boost after the summer.

Last year's National Day break, which ran for eight days from October 1 to 8, 2025, brought about 1.144 million visitor arrivals, according to preliminary government figures. The daily average of roughly 143,000 was the highest on record for the holiday, arrivals peaked at 191,000 on October 4, and hotel occupancy averaged 87.9%.

Police are preparing for the rush. The Public Security Police Force said that ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day it would strengthen coordination with the Macau Customs Service, the Zhuhai border inspection authorities and Hong Kong's Immigration Department, adjust inspection lanes to match passenger and vehicle flows, and send extra officers to major tourist sites, with crowd controls ready if needed.

For the city's casino operators, more visitors mean more potential players and more hotel, dining and entertainment spending. With Macau a full three weeks ahead of last year's record pace, the 40-million mark could fall well before the end of 2026.