Macau has become a hot holiday destination for Australians with a forecast that this trend will continue throughout 2012.
In the first three months of this year, the number of Australians visiting the popular Asian centre has increased by more than 15 per cent compared with the same period in 2011.
In March alone, the number of Australian guests grew from 8343 in 2011 to 9994 this year, a startling rise of almost 20 per cent.
So far in 2012, 31,731 Australians have taken a holiday in Macau compared with 27,537 during the same period last year.
In 2011, almost 112,000 made the trip to the former Portuguese enclave.
"Judging by these early figures we should eclipse that mark in 2012," said a jubilant Helen Wong, general manager of the Macau Government Tourist Office in Australia and New Zealand.
"New attractions, new world class entertainment, new shopping centres, new exciting activities and additional good quality international hotels are all playing key roles in attracting Australians," she said.
"Couple these features with a solid marketing plan in Australia and a healthy Australian dollar and we can look forward to even better times ahead.
"There's little doubt such promotions as last year's Macau Festival in Sydney's Darling Harbour helped to not only bring awareness of Macau to Australians but to also highlight its many star attractions such as the UNESCO World Heritage sites as well as the new additions."
Among the new attractions for 2012 is the recently-opened US$4.4-billion Sands Cotai Central's (first phase), which included the 636-room Conrad hotel as well as the 1224-room Holiday Inn, each hotel the world's largest in the brands.
Overall, a record 28 million visited Macau from around the world in 2011.
In the first three months, an extra 7.95 per cent visited compared with the same months last year.
Details: Macau Government Tourist Office, www.macautourism.gov.mo
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