Macau, China, 26 June – In the first five months of 2007 Macau received over 10 million visitors, which is a rise of 21.45 percent against the same period of 2006, the directors of Macau’s Tourism Service said Monday.

Costa Antunes, who was speaking during a meeting of Macau tourism representatives in 16 countries and territories also, also said that the main flow of tourists continued to be from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Antunes said that Malaysia had become the fourth largest source of tourists to Macau with growth of 68.3 percent in the first five months of the year.

In March of this year, Antunes said that Macau may receive between 24 and 25 million tourists in 2007.

In 2006 Macau had 21.98 million visitors, as compared with 18.7 million in 2005.

At the meeting, Antunes said that the Macau tourism industry had to focus on diversification in order to “help minimize the risks of dependence on certain products and the seasonal nature of the market.”

Macau’s tourism is concentrated on the entertainment sector with the current 27 casinos being the main source of promotion and attraction of tourists and visitors.

“We need to set up more alliances with airline, given the fundamental link between air transport and tourism, in order to expand our market share of international visitors,” said Antunes.

The director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau told Revista Macau in June that by the end of the decade Macau would have 34 or 35 casinos.

Macau has an area of 25 square kilometers and a population of a little over 500,000 people. (macauhub)