2026 Chinese New Year Boosts Macau’s Visitor Numbers

Macau saw robust tourist arrivals during the 2026 Chinese New Year holiday, driven by promotional campaigns, celebratory events, and a rise in gaming activity. Initial data indicate that approximately 1.554 million visitors came to the city from February 15 to 23 for the Spring Festival Golden Week.

Macau Sees Substantial Increase in Visitors in February

The results surpassed early projections, which had forecast roughly 120,000 arrivals per day. In reality, the daily average climbed to 169,725, which is almost on par with the pre-pandemic daily average of 171,702 recorded in 2019. The surge in visitors also provided a boost to the hospitality industry. Throughout the holiday period, hotel occupancy rose to 95.2%, marking an increase of nearly 10% compared with the previous year.

It is perhaps expected that mainland China accounted for a substantial share of arrivals during the Chinese New Year celebrations, representing approximately 76% of the total. This translates to roughly 1.04 million mainland visitors, with an average of around 129,000 arrivals per day.

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported that February gross gaming revenue (GGR) from games of fortune reached MOP 20.62 billion ($2.55 billion), representing a 4.5% year-on-year increase. The $2.55 billion generated by the six casino concessionaires exceeded the consensus forecast of 1% GGR growth. Expectations had been tempered after a soft start to the Chinese New Year period, but a late-week surge in travel pushed daily casino revenue beyond $150 million.

Why Macau Saw This Increase in 2026?

There are several factors that contribute to Macau’s significant increase in visitor numbers, and the first one is the timing of the Chinese New Year. The nine-day holiday spanned February 15 to 23, during which most mainland workers were granted paid leave. In contrast, the 2025 Lunar New Year was divided between January and February.

Another reason could be the fact that Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts, and SJM Holdings, three of Macau’s biggest concessionaries, have been allowed to exchange currencies at their casinos. This means that visitors could more conveniently exchange currency, which could have contributed to more tourists coming in from abroad.

One more factor is that Macau’s gaming industry has effectively shifted away from its former reliance on high rollers toward a greater emphasis on the premium and mass-market segments.

This transition accelerated following the 2022 relicensing process, when Beijing instructed the local government to tighten oversight and curb the activities of VIP junket operators. However, this also had an interesting effect – although 300,000 more visitors traveled to Macau during the 2026 Chinese New Year compared with 2025, gross gaming revenue increased by just 4.5%.

That being said, the year has only started, so 2026 may see a much larger increase in GGR in the coming months. For March, GGR projection is roughly 13% year-over-year growth, or MOP 22.2 billion (about $2.75 billion).