Macao has recorded nearly half a million tourist arrivals during the Chinese mainland's "Golden Week" holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7, about 60 percent of whom are mainland visitors, an official statement said on Tuesday.

According to the statement issued by the Public Security Police Force, visitor arrivals during the "Golden Week" increased by 13.7 percent over the same period last year to 492,564, with visitors from the Chinese mainland increasing by 4.25 percent to 294,000, accounting for 60 percent of the total number.

Room supply of three to five-star hotels has increased by 1,806 rooms to 11,338, a growth of 18.9 percent over the same period of 2005.

The statement said that the daily average number of room nights occupied during the "Golden Week" was 9,531, an increase of 1,400 rooms or 17 percent above that of last year.

According to figures provided by the hotels in Macao, the average occupancy rate of three to five-star hotels during the " Golden Week" was 84.07 percent, a modest drop of 1.24 percentage points.

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2006)