Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is making active endeavors to tap into international visitor markets including deepening engagement in the Spanish market. In the first eight months of 2026, Macao registered an increase of over 30% in European visitor arrivals, with a surge of nearly 20% in the number of Spanish visitors. The Office keeps striving to raise Macao’s profile and appeal in the Spanish visitor market through a diversity of promotional initiatives. The Spanish Confederation of Travel Agents (CEAV) has recently announced its commendation of Macao as the “Preferred Destination 2027”. In recognition of Macao’s unique strengths as a world centre of tourism and leisure, the designation will be a boon for Macao’s continuous pursuit of the Spanish and European markets.

Continuous diverse promotions

The “Experience Macao Roadshow in Madrid” and the promotional activity “China Taste – Macao Flavour” were successfully held in Spain this April, in parallel with the Macao Tourism Product Updates and Networking session to familiarize the travel trade there with Macao’s latest tourism development and potential of multi-destination travel. Destination marketing efforts were rolled out among consumers and tourism operators for an extensive reach into the visitor market in Spain.

After arranging for a Spanish travel trade delegation to Macao in July in collaboration with the major Spanish online travel agency DESTINA, MGTO organized another five-day in-depth familiarization trip to Macao in early October for a delegation of CEAV, to facilitate Spanish tourism businesses’ strategic marketing and launch of Macao tourism products.

Another delegation of Spanish travel trade visits Macao for familiarization

The five-day familiarization trip started from the experience of “Fly you to Macao” as international visitors, obtaining free direct coach tickets across the border to Macao from the Hong Kong International Airport. A delegation of 22 Spanish travel trade representatives were arranged for a hotel stay in a local community. The itinerary covered the Historic Centre of Macao, Macao Science Center, Macao Museum of Art, Handover Gifts Museum of Macao, entertainment facilities in Cotai District, quaint hotel with nostalgic vibes and the 34^th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest. The delegates also tasted Macanese and Portuguese cuisines, Chinese hotpot and food stalls, besides learning how to cook Macanese dishes such as baked stuffed crab shell at the Macao University of Tourism. The delegation had a comprehensive experience of Macao’s culture, gastronomy and diverse appeal in “tourism +”. Macao tourism operators who joined a travel fair in Europe this year were arranged for an exchange with the delegation to promote industry cooperation between Macao and Spain.

Spanish visitor arrivals rise nearly 20% in first eight months

MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes expressed that through the familiarization visit, MGTO looks forward to providing Spanish travel agents with a firsthand experience of the city’s dynamic development as a world centre of tourism and leisure. With visitor arrivals from Spain to Macao marking a double-digit increase of nearly 20% between January and August 2026, the Office will continue its collaboration with CEAV to attract more travelers for both mono- and multi-destination travel to Macao and across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

MGTO keeps spotlighting Macao as a travel destination in the Spanish market through diverse channels, to expand the visitor markets in Spain and regions nearby. Among the initiatives, the Office partners with DESTINIA, a mega online travel agency in Spain, to launch a variety of Macao tourism products on its website. Multi-destination tourism products and experience-oriented tours in Macao are launched in Spain, France and Germany in partnership with an international travel technology company named PASSPORTER. The Office will continue its cooperation with the tourism enterprise Ávoris to design Macao tourism products tailor made for Spanish and Portuguese visitors, to boost overseas travelers’ intent to visit Macao. Furthermore, MGTO will join FITUR 2027, the international travel fair in Spain, to elevate Macao’s presence with stronger promotional efforts, branding Macao as a fascinating long-haul destination for Spanish visitors and steering Macao’s tourism industry towards sustainable development.