The number of Macao's visitor arrivals in package tours for April 2009 went up 5.7 percent from a year earlier to 475,806, according to the figures released on Friday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

The DSEC figures showed that visitors from the Chinese mainland (364,571) and Taiwan (28,188) increased by 20.8 percent and 34.7 percent year-on-year respectively.

While those from Hong Kong (21,262), Thailand (12,252), and Malaysia (10,410) decreased by 32.2 percent, 23.2 percent and 26.3 percent respectively.

In the first four months of 2009, visitor arrivals in package tours grew by 12.1 percent over the same period of 2008 to 1.85 million.

Meanwhile, the number of Macao residents traveling outbound in package tours increased by 9.6 percent year-on-year to 18,728 in April. Chinese mainland (79.7 percent), Taiwan (7.5 percent), and Japan (3.4 percent) were the most popular tour itineraries, according to the DSEC.

As for the first four months, outbound residents traveling under such arrangements rose by 4.8 percent year-on-year to 126, 516, the DSEC said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2009)