Considering Macau’s close ties with China and its advantageous location, the Macau government should strongly promote the diversification of the city’s core gambling industry to ensure its long-term sustainable growth. As the economy and tourism policies adopted by Mainland China change rapidly, predicting the needs of travelers becomes increasingly difficult. To clearly understand this big market, we segmented a sample of Mainland Chinese visitors traveling to Macau according to their perception of Macau as a travel destination and mapped their socio-demographic profiles as well as their preferences. This study provides an insight into the major preferences and perceptions of Mainland Chinese travelers. The findings can thus help the Macau government and relevant tourism stakeholders better understand their inbound travelers.

Results revealed three major dimensions of Mainland Chinese travelers’ perception toward Macau: ‘culture and attraction,’ ‘value for money and convenience,’ and ‘pleasure.’ Four clusters were also defined: ‘relaxation seekers,’ ‘accessibility and convenience seekers,’ ‘value seekers,’ and ‘gambling and entertainment seekers.’ The results reflected that Macau is not only associated with casinos and gambling, but also other components such as the city’s culture and convenience which can contribute to its sustainability.