Over the Chinese New Year weekend, the largest gaming hotspot in the world, Macau, saw tens of thousands of tourists pour into its casinos and scenic cobblestone alleys, in sharp contrast to the lack of travelers before 2020.

The official statistics state Macau received more than 318,000 tourists in the first five days of the holiday period. According to early data from the city’s Public Security Police, there were around 63,600 visitors arriving each day on average during that time, an increase of 291.9 percent from the same period last year.

The data showed that over the first five days of the holiday, mainland visitors made up 57.3 percent of all arrivals, while tourists from Hong Kong made up 37.1 percent of all visits.

The Macau government announced late on Tuesday that it had received more than 71,000 visitors on Monday, the most in a single day since the pandemic. “I come here to gamble; it’s good to see people in Macau. According to The Business Standard, ” it was lifeless during the lockdown and not very good,” a visitor from Guangdong province in southern China said.

Before the holiday season began, the Macau authorities had stated they expected the city to receive roughly 47,000 visitors every day during the festive period, with the daily total perhaps reaching 60,000.

“It’s very nice that the Chinese government has reopened the border again, so I can go anywhere freely and do not need to quarantine and visit my relatives,” another tourist visiting Macau said.

According to casino officials, many of the resorts on Macau’s Las Vegas-style strip have already sold out for the season. Visitors to the lavish casino resorts in the city browsed shops like Sands China’s gondola-filled Venetian property. In contrast, others crowded around for pictures at well-known tourist attractions like the iconic Ruins of St. Paul’s.

While the pre-pandemic period saw over 1.2 million visitor arrivals for that seven-day holiday period, experts believe the current growth is still relatively decent growth.