The number of international guests staying in Macau’s hotels rose by 16% in the first quarter of 2026, reaching 338,000 compared to the same period last year.
According to data from the city’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), South Korea remained the top international market, accounting for approximately 106,000 guests—a 15.1% increase over 2025. Significant growth was also recorded among guests from Thailand (28,000, +61.3%), Malaysia (22,000, +1.2%), and India (19,000, +51.0%). Conversely, visitor numbers from Japan (25,000) and Indonesia (14,000) saw declines of 2.9% and 18.2%, respectively.
Macau’s tourism authorities have been intensifying efforts to attract international travelers to diversify the economy and reduce its long-standing reliance on mainland Chinese tourists. These initiatives include expanded tourism products, large-scale events, and promotional campaigns in various countries, including Portugal.
In total, Macau’s hotels hosted 3.67 million guests between January and March, a 2.6% year-on-year increase. Mainland China continues to represent the largest share of the total with 2.74 million visitors, though it saw a modest growth of just 0.6%. Meanwhile, guests from Hong Kong increased by 4.3% to 390,000.
Read more about this topic: Macau hotel occupancy rate reached 95% in February
The average hotel occupancy rate stood at 92.3%, up 2.1 percentage points from the first quarter of 2025. Currently, Macau has 147 hotels providing a total of 45,400 rooms. Five-star hotels reported the highest occupancy at 95.4%, followed by four-star (88.7%) and three-star establishments (87.5%).
The report also noted a shift in travel habits: the number of visitors arriving in tour groups fell by 14% to 475,000, largely due to a 20.4% drop in tours from mainland China (385,000). Authorities noted that more Chinese tourists are opting for independent travel. However, international tour group visitors bucked the trend, growing by 16.1% to reach 61,000.
