Macao's massive CNY turnout
Macao's 2026 Chinese New Year festivities drew over one million attendees, anchored by drone shows and fireworks that organizers credit with a tourism boost. (travelandtourworld.com) The event's neighborhood parades and skyline displays were promoted as a model for combining culture with economic recovery. (travelandtourworld.com)
MGTO’s new sky spectacle used exactly 3,888 drones in synchronized formations flown over the sea near Macau Tower, paired with pyrotechnics to create the city’s first integrated drone-and-fireworks shows; each session ran about 15 minutes. (gov.mo) The three combined drone-and-fireworks performances were staged on Feb. 19 (3rd day of Lunar New Year), Feb. 23 (7th day) and March 3 (15th day), with showtimes at 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 19 and 9 p.m. on the later nights. (gov.mo) MGTO told media it expected 1.4–1.5 million tourist arrivals across the nine-day Lunar New Year period, projecting daily inflows of roughly 158,000–175,000 people. (agbrief.com) The tourism office raised its Lunar New Year entertainment budget by about 5% to MOP36 million (≈US$4.48 million) to underwrite the expanded parade programme and the drone-plus-fireworks displays. (travelandtourworld.com) Parade programming listed roughly 1,300 performers and 17 themed floats across community and city parades, with Golden Dragon neighborhood parades on the 1st and 2nd days and larger float processions staged from Sai Van Lake. (english.news.cn) (macaonews.org) MGTO reported preliminary on-site spectator numbers for the festive programme surpassed 270,000 and set six official vantage points for viewing while imposing temporary traffic measures around Macau Tower and Avenida do Oceano on show nights. (gov.mo 1) (gov.mo 2) Hotel booking data released ahead of the break showed pre-holiday occupancy above 80%, with MGTO forecasting average occupancy would top 90% as peak days approached, after a record 40.06 million visitor arrivals to Macao in 2025. (macaonews.org)
