Macau visitor arrivals remain strong post-Mid-Autumn Festival, ahead of October Golden Week

Macau recorded close to 100,000 visitor arrivals on Tuesday, with tourist volume remaining strong following the four-day Mid-Autumn Festival, as the city prepares for the holiday period associated with the National Day of the People’s Republic of China. According to data disclosed by Macau’s Public Security Police, the agency responsible for monitoring the city’s immigration checkpoints, Macau recorded a total of 98,953 visitor arrivals on Tuesday. That follows Macau receiving 512,041 visitors during the four-day period marking the Mid-Autumn Festival, from September 25 to 28 – a daily average of just above 128,000 visitor arrivals. This year there is only a short gap between the Mid-Autumn Festival and the festivities surrounding China’s National Day on October 1, a period also referred to as October Golden Week or National Day Golden Week. China’s State Council has designated October 1 to 7 as the National Day break period on the Chinese mainland for 2026. The upcoming October Golden Week is a major festive break for consumers from the Chinese mainland, and a peak trading period for Macau’s casinos. The mainland is the main feeder market for Macau’s tourism sector. Macau’s Public Security Police said on Tuesday it expected the total number of Macau border checkpoint entries and exits to stand between 5.2 million and 5.4 million during the October Golden Week holiday, averaging 740,000 to 770,000 per day – a figure that includes visitors, as well as Macau residents, migrant workers, students and others. According to the police’s forecast, the peak is anticipated to fall on October 3 and 4, with daily border crossings potentially surpassing 800,000. The head of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, said over the weekend the bureau expected the city to record an average of 150,000 daily visitor arrivals for the October Golden Week. Macau’s visitor tally for last year’s October Golden Week – covering eight days – was just above 1.14 million, according to data published by the Public Security Police. The figure was up 15.3 percent from the festive period a year earlier: in 2024, the holiday ran for seven days, i.e. October 1 to 7, during which time Macau welcomed 993,117 visitors, according to official data. The daily average for the 2025 October holiday break was about 143,090, up nearly 1.0 percent from the comparable period a year ago.