This Chinese New Year proved to be better for Macau than last year. Data provided by the city’s Public Security Police, as relayed by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), indicates that there was an increase of 26.1% in visitation over the first four days of the period, which ran from February 4-7.

The first week of the Chinese New Year is typically strong for the gaming industry in Macau, with hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese taking advantage of the long holiday to travel to the city. This year, the official holiday period for the Chinese New Year drew to a close yesterday, February 10.

However, an uptick in visitation does not necessary mean that gambling revenues are higher. This is due, in part, to the fact that high-stakes action by a small group of gamblers comprises an important part of the market. However, the visitor information is still important to casinos, as it allows them to see trends in movements.

Over the first four days, 628,811 visitors flocked to Macau. Of these, 71.2%, or 447,768, were from mainland China, which represents an increase of 26.5% over the same period last year.