A total of 373,474 visitor arrivals in package tours were recorded in Macao in August 2008, down by 3. 5 percent from a year earlier, according to the figures from the region's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

Among the total, visitors from Southeast Asia soared significantly in the period by 119.2 percent year-on-year to 31,468, while those from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong decreased by 10.7 percent and 6.1 percent, at 252,464 and 27,567 respectively, the DSEC said.

In the first eight months of 2008, visitor arrivals in package tours rose by 19.9 percent over the same period of last year to 3,192,670, according to the DSEC figures.

Meanwhile, the number of Macao residents traveling outbound in package tours also increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year to 27,931 in August, according to the figures. The mainland (62.4 percent), Japan (11.1 percent) and Thailand (8.4 percent) were the three most popular tour itineraries.

The first eight months of 2008 also saw the number of Macao residents traveling in package tours went up by 6.2 percent over the same period of 2007 to 154,323 in August this year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2008)