Macau, China, Dec. 19, 2025 (Lusa) - Macau received 3.35 million visitors in November, up 18.1% from the same period in 2024 and the highest figure ever for that month, it was announced on Friday.
The number of tourists visiting the territory was the highest for any November since the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) began compiling monthly data in 1998, during the Portuguese administration.
The semi-autonomous Chinese region had also recorded a record high for September - almost 3.8 million visitors, up 9.8% from the same period in 2024 - and for October - 3.47 million, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%.
However, in November, almost 61% of visitors (2.04 million) arrived on organised tours and spent less than a day in Macao.
In 2024, the Central Government announced a series of measures to support the territory, such as increasing the tax exemption limit for personal goods purchased by visitors from China.
At the same time, the Chinese authorities extended the list of places with "individual visas" to visit Hong Kong and Macau to 10 more cities in China.
In addition, since 1 January, residents of the neighbouring city of Zhuhai can visit Macao once a week and stay for up to seven days.
As a result, the overwhelming majority (89.1%) of tourists arriving in Macao in November came from mainland China or Hong Kong, while just over 364,500 were international visitors.
The city received a total of nearly 36.5 million visitors in the first 11 months of 2025, 14.4% more than in the same period in 2024 and more than in the whole of last year.
Macau received 34.9 million visitors in 2024, 23.8% more than the previous year, but still far from the record 39.4 million set in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the local Chinese-language newspaper Ou Mun Iat Pou, the director of Macau Tourism Services told reporters on Tuesday that the goal is to close 2025 with 39 million visitors.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes pointed out that the number of international visitors has recovered to about 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
In August, she set a target of more than three million international visitors in 2025.
In the first 11 months of the year, Macau received 3.33 million tourists from abroad, 15.1% more than in the same period in 2024.
Citizens of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman are now exempt from visa requirements to enter the city as of 16 July.
On Tuesday, Senna Fernandes recalled that the Government Action Lines (LAG) for 2026 provide for the opening of two Macao delegations in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.
The LAG, presented at the end of November, envisage the opening of a delegation in Malaysia and also point to the importance of targeting tourists from Portuguese-speaking countries as a priority.
VQ/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
