In support of the SAR Government’s blueprint of Macao’s development into a world centre of tourism and leisure, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) delivered the second-phase review study report on the Macao Tourism Industry Development Master Plan (“Master Plan”) in 2025. A comprehensive assessment was conducted upon the changing macroenvironment’s impact upon the tourism industry, along with a review of the action plans’ implementation progress. A diversity of new initiatives were proposed to advance steady tourism development in Macao. After reorganization and refinement, the second-phase Master Plan is finalized to cover six major areas and 74 action plans (including 20 new action plans), aimed for progressive implementation by 2030.

Through interdepartmental collaboration and concerted efforts of industry operators, 74 action plans have commenced in diverse areas. The highlights of implementation progress in 2025 are summarized as follows:

Colorful tourism products and experiences create diverse destination appeal

Macao is vigorously developing into a city of sports and entertainment. The 15^th National Games, the 12^th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and 9^th National Special Olympic Games were jointly organized by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao with success. As for cultural events, “Macao International Parade” and “Macao International Art Biennale 2025” were held successively to manifest the city’s vibrant art scene. The “Training Program for Young Performing Arts Talents” was launched to nurture local performing artists, while continued support was offered for filming of TV shows and movies in Macao, a boon for the industry and tourism development.  

Incessant endeavors were made to deepen the offerings of “tourism + gastronomy”. Besides various high-end catering, wine tasting and food award events organized by integrated tourism enterprises, MGTO successfully organized the “International Cities of Gastronomy Fest, Macao” and partnered with a daily-life service platform in the Chinese mainland to launch a themed promotion about “search for street food connoisseurs in Macao” coupled with culinary training. The initiatives raised Macao’s profile as a Creative City of Gastronomy. On the other hand, the IP economy and trendy collaborations in cultural tourism held new appeal for young travelers. The cultural tourism projects “Flora Fête with Sanrio characters” and “POP MART Macao Citywalk” enjoyed wide popularity as crossovers with trendy characters.

New tourism landscapes and trends kept rising. Different international conventions convened in Macao while 12 professional exhibitions were certified by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI). Various initiatives such as the “Expertinctive Shops Subsidy Program”, “concerts + special offers on community spending”, “ZAPE Taste Jam” and the “Scheme for Supporting the Development of Macao First-Store Economy”, which encouraged international brands to open their first stores in Macao, were launched to bring new waves of growth in the first-store economy, coffee cultural tourism and nighttime economy, fostering interactive development between tourism and community economy.

Optimize tourism services and interdepartmental collaboration

To advance tourism service quality and expertise of tourism employees, different departments jointly organized training programs on service etiquette, AI application and other aspects. The profession of educational tourism instructors was included into “Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System” (MORS) to map out clear paths for career development. In addition, Macao deepened regional collaboration for talent cultivation with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as the base for tourism education and training. The evaluation mechanism “one exam for multiple qualifications” was implemented to support tourism personnel’s career development. With the Law No. 5/2025 on the Operation of Travel Agencies and Tour Guide Profession in effect in 2026, MGTO held briefing sessions to elaborate the key clauses of the Law for the travel trade to ensure smooth transition.

Systems and infrastructure were continuously optimized for “tourism + events”. The Enjoy Macao Ticketing platform officially came into service. Numerous international concerts were held with success at the outdoor show venue. Plans were formulated for management of crowd and traffic flows to ensure public safety and order at event venues. The SAR Government also regularly appraised the concessionaires’ implementation of pledged investments in a wider variety of non-gaming initiatives.

Expansion of visitor markets by online-offline promotions

In terms of market expansion and destination promotion, MGTO partnered with airlines, online travel agencies and banks to launch tailormade products and special offers. The “Hubei．Wuhan Macao Week” was staged in tandem with online-offline promotions. Promotional events were also held in Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (Korea), Bangkok (Thailand), Lisbon (Portugal), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) among other cities. Promotional efforts were made to tap into the potential of the Middle East and Muslim markets. Meanwhile, e-marketing endeavors paid off on social media. MGTO has engaged 10.62 million followers on 28 official accounts. The promotional event “Enchanting Macao” and the international influencer event “CreatorWeek Macao 2025” were organized for collaborative destination branding with creators, attracting young travelers to Macao for structural optimization of market segments.

Optimize urban infrastructure and transport systems for seamless travel experience

In terms of transport and urban development, the SAR Government actively planned the development of Macau International Integrated Tourism and Culture Zone and inaugurated the District Development Centre. Announced in 2025, the Civil Aviation Activity Law came into force in 2026 to diversify and widen the coverage of the air transportation network through launch and resumption of flight routes as well as increase of flight frequencies. Smart immigration clearance was first launched at Hengqin Port with the “face-scan” function, while e-channels were opened to visitors from more countries for self-service immigration clearance. Travelers from five more countries in the Middle East were granted visa-free entry to Macao to ease border-crossing formalities. Furthermore, the Government remained attentive to the demand for public transportation and studied the feasibility of the circular Light Rail Transit system to optimize travelers’ transport experience and elevate the city’s capacity. For large-scale events, the Government strengthened measures for crowd and traffic flow management as well as the source reduction measures for carbon neutrality, to safeguard public safety and sustainable development.

Technology empowers innovative development

The Government keeps striving for smart tourism development. The Macao SAR Government Open Data Platform provides 49 sets of tourism data which support the “tourism + technology” development. The concerted development of “tourism + e-commerce” was deepened through partnerships with Douyin and Xiaohongshu to spotlight Macao products. To support e-commerce transformation of small and medium enterprises, industry associations were supported to open online stores on WeChat for “order in Macao, delivery in Chinese mainland”. Local community organizations were supported to launch the “Macau Catering Industry Smart Upgrade Program” and the “Distinctive Macao Guide Program” to enhance businesses’ digital transformation and harnessing of smart technology to enhance the offerings of experiences. The platform of “Smart Travel to Macao with One Click” was launched in collaboration with Amap, while a new online guiding service was provided about heritage attractions to enhance travel experiences. The sixth-phase development project of the surveillance system known as “Eyes in the Sky” was commenced to advance the smart tourism and safety network.

Deepen regional and international tourism cooperation to raise international influence

Macao has garnered different international rewards and rankings as a travel destination, including the designation as “Preferred Destination 2025” by the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Award in Marketing. Macao was also ranked fifth in the Muslim women-friendly travel destination category of “Global Muslim Travel Index 2025”, and first in the “top 10 China outbound tourist satisfaction index 2024”. The conferment revealed international recognition for Macao’s diverse destination appeal.

For regional cooperation, Macao signed cooperative agreements on business integrity with Zhuhai and Zhongshan as well as a memorandum of understanding for collaborative regulation of cultural travel market with other cities on the western shore of the Pearl River Estuary, to refine the mechanism for regional cooperation. Macao also advanced collaboration with the Greater Bay Area and Hengqin by organizing different events including the “2025 Macao-Hengqin Camping Fair”, “Macau International Comedy Festival” and the “1st Global Artificial Intelligence Machines and Electronics Expo” through “one exhibition in two cities” and “one festival in two destinations”. Initiatives were conducted to forge more profound international exchange. The tourism industry summit and the Cultural Week of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries were organized to strengthen Macao’s functions as a Sino-Portuguese connecting platform. The city also actively engaged in international tourism conventions and partnered with other Culture Cities of East Asia to deepen intercultural exchange. For preservation of intangible cultural heritage, 12 new items were enlisted on Macao’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Released in 2025, the second-phase review study report on the Macao Tourism Industry Development Master Plan is available on MGTO’s website: https://masterplan.macaotourism.gov.mo/2025/index_en.html.

First delivered in 2017, the Master Plan comes with an evaluation mechanism for timely adjustments to various key objectives, planning proposals and action plans in line with the latest prospect of Macao’s tourism industry. The SAR Government will continue to guide the development by strategic planning and harness the impetus of innovation, pushing forward various action plans of the Master Plan. The Government will meticulously assess the concessionaires’ fulfillment of pledged investments in different non-gaming elements, to ensure the tourism industry’s march towards high-quality, sustainable and diverse development. In the future, the mechanism for interdepartmental coordination will be continuously strengthened while supportive measures will be optimized. The Government will maintain close communication with the private sector and together leverage the opportunities unveiled by regional cooperation and market transformation, to contribute to Macao’s adequate economic diversification and prosperity in the long run.