Average hotel occupancy on the Macau Peninsula stood at around 80% in the first half of the year, while room rates fell by between 5% and 6%, the president of the Macau Hotel Association, Jocelyn Wong, told the Macao Daily News. She pointed to the increase in local hotel supply and the growing preference among visitors to stay in Zhuhai and Hengqin.
“The tourism model has indeed been changing, and it has been for some time,” says Glenn McCartney, Associate Professor of International Integrated Resort Management at the University of Macau. “The question now is: how do we respond to it?”
The academic links this evolution to the development of Hengqin and Zhuhai, improved cross-border mobility, the growth of Cotai, and the closure of satellite casinos.
“In 2025, of the 40.07 million visitors, 23.52 million – 59% – were same-day visitors.” The average length of stay “was 1.1 days.” A decade earlier, “same-day visitors accounted for 53% of the 30.71 million visitors,” while the average length of stay remained unchanged.
Read more: Macau: economy grows 7.1%; driven by tourism
McCartney nevertheless believes that Peninsula hotels will continue to attract a large number of guests. “There is a significant volume of visitors, and given the number of hotel rooms in Macau, there will continue to be strong demand for hotels on the Macau Peninsula and high occupancy rates,” he told PLATFORM.
However, he offers a warning: “As recently reported by the media regarding weaker occupancy levels and lower room rates, it’s good to plan strategies in advance.”
Higher Spending During Visits
With more than half of visitors not staying overnight, Glenn McCartney believes it is necessary to “increase spending” during their time in Macau, including on “gaming, retail, dining, events, and entertainment.”
“The sharing of travel experiences and visitor journeys to and from Macau is already happening on social media,” he says. “How do we become part of that conversation by highlighting activities on the Peninsula, whether accommodation, neighborhood events and entertainment, dining promotions, or shopping opportunities?”
McCartney adds that “strategic partnerships with other brands and businesses can help spread the message.”
Discounts and packages designed to extend visitor stays may have an impact in the short term, but the professor warns: “Promotions affect accommodation revenue and potentially brand image – when prices remain low for an extended period, the challenge is raising them again.”
For Glenn McCartney, neighborhoods can be developed as tourism districts, with offerings tailored to the characteristics of each community. “Of course, food is one element, but it can also involve storytelling and cultural events within that neighborhood or tourism zone.”
Tourism should be conceived as “the co-creation of experiences between the community and the visitor,” integrated into “a longer-term vision,” he says.
Planning should establish objectives and performance indicators and involve “the community, hotels, small businesses, event organizers, live entertainment providers, and transport operators.”
It should also include “empirical research” into “community sentiment and visitor expectations,” as well as possible “legislative improvements.”
