The figure shows that Chinese mainland have provided Macao SAR with the largest tourists source for consecutive years. According to the statistics released by Macao SAR Statistics Bureau, the mainland tourists have exceeded 9.5 million in 2004, accounting for more than half of Macao's total tourists.

Taking the last quarter in 2004 as an example, the per capita consumption of mainland tourists in Macao has set a historical new high in recent years, reaching 3,280 Macao dollars or 11.6 percent higher than 2,948 Macao dollars in 2003. The per capita consumption of mainland tourists not only far exceeded the average tourists' consumption level in Macao, but also 3.4 times higher than 952 HK dollars, the per capita consumption of Hong Kong tourists in Macao. The mainland tourists have contributed a total tourism revenue of 27 billion Macao dollars to Macao SAR government.

By People's Daily Online