Macau visitor arrivals up 7.5 percent as gambling revenue falls

Macau received 31.5 million visitors last year, up 7.5 percent on the year before, according to the South China Morning Post citing official tourism statistics.

The rise in tourist numbers stand in stark contrast to Macau’s gross gambling revenues which fell for an eighth straight month in January by 17.4 percent.

"The gambling business went down in the second half of last year, but tourist numbers continued to increase," Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, tourist office director, told the Post.

"The growing momentum of mainland tourists was especially strong. We are thrilled to know tourists don't necessarily come here to gamble."

The number of visitors from mainland China to Macau rose 14.1 percent year-on-year to 21 million last year, accounting for about two-thirds of the total arrivals.

Arrivals from Hong Kong, Macau's second biggest source of visitors, dropped 5 percent to 6.4 million in 2014.

 

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