Q1 Visitor Expenditure and MICE Statistics Announced

The Macao SAR Government Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) has revealed that total spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors was MOP16.42 billion in the first quarter of 2018, up some 22 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, a total of 328 MICE events were held in the first quarter of the year, comprising 314 meetings & conferences, 10 exhibitions and 4 incentive events, with total participants and attendees reaching 278 thousand.

Mainland China visitors spending more

In the first quarter of 2018 per capita spending of visitors was MOP1921, up 12.4 per cent year-on-year. Per capita spending of visitors from Mainland China increased by 11.6 per cent year-on-year to MOP2234, while visitors travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) spent an average of MOP2558, up 18.8 per cent year-on-year. Per capita spending of visitors from Singapore (MOP1948), Malaysia (MOP1712) and the Taiwan region (MOP1652) grew by 6.7 per cent, 5.4 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively, year-on-year.

Meanwhile, spending by long-haul visitors from Australia (MOP1493) and the United States (MOP1333) ticked up 8.7 per cent and 10.1 per cent, respectively, whilst spending by visitors from the United Kingdom (MOP961) fell 14.1 per cent.

In the first quarter of 2018, the total spending of overnight visitors (MOP12.68 billion) and same-day visitors (MOP3.74 billion) increased by 19.6 per cent and 30.7 per cent, respectively, year-on-year. Per capita spending of overnight visitors rose by 8.6 per cent year-on-year to MOP2928. Overnight visitors from Mainland China spent an average of MOP3312 (+6.5 per cent), with IVS visitors spending MOP3693 (+15.8 per cent).

Per capita spending of overnight visitors from Singapore (MOP3027) and Taiwan region (MOP3129) went up by 10.8 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, per capita spending of same-day visitors increased by 22.2 per cent year-on-year to MOP886; same-day IVS visitors from Mainland China spent MOP1644 (+22.5 per cent).

Spending on shopping buoyant

With regard to type of spending, visitors spent mainly on shopping (47.3 per cent of total), accommodation (23.3 per cent) and food & beverages (22 per cent) in the first quarter of 2018. The per capita shopping spending of visitors rose by 21.7 per cent year-on-year to MOP910, of which spending on local food products (MOP290) and cosmetics & perfume (MOP243) grew by 24.8 per cent and 20.8 per cent, respectively. Analysed by main purpose of visit, visitors coming to Macao for MICE events posted higher per capita spending (MOP2908), followed by those coming for shopping (MOP2596) and for vacation (MOP2500).

Regarding visitors' comments, visitor satisfaction regarding all aspects of services and facilities in the first quarter of 2018 registered an increase vis-a-vis the fourth quarter of 2017. The proportion of visitors who complimented the services and facilities offered by hotels (86.7 per cent) edged up 0.8 percentage points quarter-to-quarter, with the share of those satisfied with environmental hygiene (83.4 per cent), services of retail shops (79.4 per cent) and public facilities (79.1 per cent) rising 4.9 percentage points, 1.4 percentage points and 4.4 percentage points, respectively.

The proportion of visitors who were satisfied with the services of public transport (68.8 per cent) was relatively low despite a quarter-to-quarter increase of 5.3 percentage points. Meanwhile, only 56.5 per cent of visitors considered that there were adequate tourist attractions in Macao, although a 4.3 percentage points increase over the previous quarter.

More Meetings & Conferences participants in Q1

The number of meetings & conferences held in the first quarter decreased by 30 year-on-year, with meetings & conferences of less than 100 participants down by 35. Meanwhile, the number of participants increased by 31.5 per cent to 71 thousand, with those attending meetings & conferences of 200 participants or more (59 thousand participants) rocketing some 46.3 per cent. The overall average duration of meetings & conferences was 1.5 days, down slightly by 0.2 days year-on-year; total floor area occupied doubled by 104.2 per cent to 551 thousand square metres.

Total exhibitions held in the first quarter increased by three year-on-year, while the number of attendees rose by 18.2 per cent to 193 thousand. The exhibitions attracted 349 exhibitors, with those coming from Macao accounting for 70.2 per cent. Professional visitors totalled 8208, with 71.4 per cent from Macao. The average duration of the exhibitions was 3.6 days, up 0.6 days year-on-year; total floor area occupied expanded by 65.3 per cent to 23 thousand square metres.

The number of incentives decreased by 11 year-on-year to four, while the number of participants soared by 205.3 per cent to 14 thousand. The average duration of incentives dipped 0.7 days year-on-year to 2.6 days; total floor area occupied jumped by 704.7 per cent to 127 thousand square metres.