“The work developed over recent years in partnership with APAVT to showcase Macau, open doors to tour operators, and boost tourism flows is set to continue,” stated Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes today.
The director was speaking at the close of the 50th congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT), held in Macau from Tuesday to today.
“We conclude [a cycle] today, but we will continue with other efforts, as Macau’s designation as APAVT’s Preferred Destination for 2026 provides a framework for maintaining this connection,” she noted.
APAVT announced its decision to again select Macau—host of the congress for the sixth time—as its Preferred Destination in 2026, facilitating a strengthened partnership.
The APAVT’s Preferred Destination program involves communication and marketing initiatives to help the chosen destination promote itself in other markets.
The director of DST emphasized at the closing that “another fundamental idea” of the region is for operators and travel agents to realize the advantage of accessing the mainland China market by leveraging the platform provided by Macau to create itineraries and destinations.
Portuguese nationals do not require a prior visa for mainland China for stays of up to 30 days.
“The partnership with APAVT over the past three years has indeed been one of our main strategies to invigorate the Portuguese market, with numerous joint initiatives, mainly to reestablish connections with Portuguese tour operators,” she also stated on Wednesday.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes discussed the achieved figures, which she says “clearly show this path.”
“By October, the number of visitors, both from Portugal and Europe in general, recorded an annual increase in double digits, recovering to about 80% of pre-pandemic levels,” she mentioned.
Specifically, Macau received 3.47 million visitors in October, up 10.8% from the same period in 2024, marking the highest-ever figure for this month, as announced today.
The number of tourists visiting the region was the highest for any October since the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) began compiling monthly data in 1998, during the Portuguese administration.
The Chinese semi-autonomous region also recorded a historic high in September: nearly 3.8 million visitors, 9.8% more than the same period in 2024.
On January 17, the director of Macau’s Tourism Services expressed expectations of between 38 and 39 million visitors for the year.
In August, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes set a target of more than three million international visitors for 2025.
In the first 10 months of the year, Macau welcomed nearly 2.97 million tourists from abroad, an increase of 14.9% compared to the same period in 2024.
