Recently, Macao was honored the most satisfactory destination for Chinese mainland travelers in the first quarter of 2024. This prestigious recognition could not have been achieved without the combined effects of many factors.

 The Ruins of St. Paul's in Macao, south China

From the government perspective, the wise decision-making of the Macao SAR government played a primary role. Over the years, it has actively promoted the development and planning of the tourism industry, continuously increasing investment in tourism infrastructure, and meticulously creating a series of distinctive tourism projects and cultural events, providing travelers with a rich and colorful experience. At the same time, it has also been highly forward-looking in policy-making, laying a solid foundation for the sustained prosperity of Macao's tourism market.

Additionally, it must be mentioned that Macao's digital capabilities have been gradually improving. Tourism industry professionals in Macao have expressed that this achievement is the result of the joint efforts of the Macao SAR government and all sectors of society. Chinese mainland tourists have given a positive evaluation of Macao's tourism, which is inseparable from the convenient and friendly mobile payment and the fine experience of the widespread digitalization of local industries. The Macao Government Tourism Office and the tourism industry are greatly encouraged and will make good use of the Chinese central government's various measures to benefit Macao, including allowing Chinese mainland tourists who join tours to make multiple trips between Hengqin and Macao by "enter and exit in groups" within seven days through the Hengqin port, and the opening of ten new Chinese mainland cities for Hong Kong and Macao "individual travel" so far this year, continuously promoting the diversified development of the tourism industry.

Data from the Macao Government's Statistics and Census Service show that in the first quarter of 2024, Macao's economy achieved a substantial growth of 25.7%, with the number of inbound tourists growing by 79.4% year-on-year to 8.8 million, recovering to 85.7% of the same period in 2019, and the number of visitors to Macao in 2024 for the whole year is expected to reach 33 million. In 2023, the total number of inbound tourists exceeded 28 million, an increase of 3.9 times year-on-year. Among them, mainland tourists reached 19 million, accounting for 67.5% of Macao's total annual inbound tourists, an increase of 2.7 times year-on-year.

The Economic Moderately Diversified Development Plan of the Macao SAR (2024-2028) proposes to deepen regional tourism integration in the field of comprehensive tourism and leisure industry. Macao will combine the advantages of the world tourism and leisure center to jointly develop tourism routes and products with the cooperation zone, jointly hold tourism, cultural, and sports events with cities in the Greater Bay Area, develop the cultural tourism exhibition trade industry, and actively explore the development of new types of cultural tourism.

The goal of building Macao into a world tourism and leisure center is to attract global tourists, including mainland tourists, with world-class product R&D capabilities and service quality. The tourism industry, entering a new cycle of rational prosperity, will bring a broader market space for tourism exchanges and cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. Industry insiders in Macao have said that the Macao SAR government is actively accelerating the "1+4" industrial layout work, Macao's local digital capabilities are improving year by year, and a number of local fintech companies are actively responding to the call to continuously optimize electronic payment services, improve the coverage and application scenarios of aggregate payment merchants, and lead mobile payments with technological innovation to help Macao enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, improve service quality and efficiency, and create a smart city for life, consumption, and travel.

Treating guests with sincerity, travelers can perceive it. Chinese mainland visitors to Macao have said that during the travel process, they have experienced the unique integration and in-depth development of Chinese and western cultures in Macao. Mobile payment platforms such as Macau Pass' MPay provide great convenience for tourists in dining, shopping, consumption, ticketing, entertainment, travel, and tourism service information. No doubt, technology is giving Macao's cultural tourism consumption a new charm, and the continuously developing digital cultural consumption new scenes of "Gourmet City," "Entertainment Capital" and "Sports City" are the "Golden Business Cards" in which tourists feel the active and attentive efforts of the Macao SAR government and local Macao enterprises.

Conclusively, under the strong guidance of the Macao SAR government's decision-making, the blessing of digital capabilities, and the high regard for the convenience of tourists, Macao has successfully shaped an excellent tourism image, thus becoming a well-deserved top tourism destination. In the future, we have reason to believe that Macao will continue to create brilliance, and bring more surprises and beauty to tourists around the world.