While the world-renowned casino city of Macau has seen a significant surge in tourists this year, the number of South Korean visitors has actually declined.
In particular, the contrast between the double-digit growth in mainland Chinese tourists and the decline in South Korean visitors has sparked interest in the underlying reasons.
According to tourism statistics released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) of the Macau SAR government on the 25th, a total of 32,181,272 tourists visited Macau from January to September this year, an 8.5% increase compared to the same period last year.
This averages to approximately 117,880 visitors per day.
By country and region, visitors from mainland China reached 23,884,916, a 10.7% increase year-on-year. They account for 74.2% of total visitors, highlighting an overwhelming reliance on the Chinese market.
Visitors from Taiwan also surged by 21.3% to 882,023. Conversely, visitors from Hong Kong saw a slight decline of 0.3% to 5,464,916.
Excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, foreign visitors totaled 1,949,417, a 3.4% increase from last year.
However, South Korean visitors totaled 374,590, a 2.1% decrease compared to the same period last year. The daily average was about 1,372, accounting for only 1.16% of total Macau visitors.
South Korea remains the fourth-largest market for Macau, following mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and is the largest source of visitors outside of the Greater China region.
In Southeast Asia, visitor numbers from the Philippines fell by 5.2% to 363,120, and from Indonesia by 16.5% to 122,366. In contrast, visitors from Thailand increased by 34.8% to 154,885, showing mixed trends across different tourism markets.
The downward trend for Korean visitors was also evident during the summer. In July, Korean visitors dropped by 14.7% year-on-year to 27,531, and in August, they fell by 12.6% to 30,738.
Meanwhile, total visitors to Macau in September reached 3,216,535, a 15.9% increase year-on-year, continuing the recovery of the tourism market.
Incheon-Macau Flights Authorized for 28 Weekly… Direct Flights from Gimhae Airport
Flights connecting South Korea and Macau are primarily operated out of Incheon International Airport.
According to regular passenger flight authorization data released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau on April 1, Air Macau is authorized for 14 weekly flights, while Korean Air and Jeju Air are each authorized for 7, totaling 28 weekly flights on the Incheon-Macau route.
From Gimhae International Airport, Air Busan is authorized for 3 weekly flights, and from Jeju International Airport, T'way Air is authorized for 2. Combined, the total authorized direct flights from South Korea to Macau amount to 33 per week.
However, authorized flights do not necessarily reflect actual operations. Schedules are subject to increases, decreases, or suspensions based on airline circumstances and seasonal plans.
In fact, Air Busan announced in its summer schedule released in August that it would operate the Busan-Macau route three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. However, as of October 24, there are no direct Gimhae-Macau flights visible in flight schedule inquiries.
The Incheon-Macau route is served by three airlines: Air Macau, Korean Air, and Jeju Air. Asiana Airlines operates by codesharing on flights operated by Air Macau and Korean Air.
Given that direct routes are being maintained, the decline in Korean visitors suggests issues beyond flight accessibility, pointing toward the competitiveness of tourism products and shifts in travel demand.
6 Out of 10 Visitors are Day-Trippers… The Challenge of Stay-Over Tourism
Another characteristic of the Macau tourism market is that the growth in overnight visitors is minimal compared to the overall increase in arrivals.
From January to September this year, day-trippers totaled 19,783,856, a 14.5% increase from last year, accounting for 61.5% of total visitors.
In contrast, overnight visitors remained at 12,397,416, similar to the previous year.
The average length of stay for all visitors was only 1.0 days, a 0.1-day decrease from last year. The average stay for overnight visitors was 2.3 days.
While the Macau tourism industry has succeeded in outward growth, analysts suggest that increasing the length of stay is a critical task for expanding tourism spending into non-casino sectors such as hotels, dining, shopping, and entertainment.
The decline in Korean visitors, in particular, highlights the need for Macau to rethink its strategy for attracting the Korean market amidst intense competition among world-class casino resorts.
However, it is difficult to attribute the decline in Korean visitors to a single factor such as airfare, changes in casino preferences, or shifts in demand to other destinations. Further analysis of travel purposes, flight seat supply, and accommodation costs is required.
The fact that only Korean tourists have decreased despite the overall rise in Macau visitors shows that in the international tourism market, maintaining demand by country is just as important as the sheer volume of visitors.
