Macao welcomed around 3.25 million visitors in the first five months of the year, according to official data published by the Macao SAR Government Statistics and Census Service in June. Visitor arrivals were down 81.1 percent for the period from January 1 to the end of May versus the prior-year period.
The figures show the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city’s tourism and hospitality industries.
For the first five months of 2020, same-day arrivals were around 1.71 million, down by 81.5 percent in comparison to the same period last year, and there were a little less than 1.54 million overnight visitors, a 80.7-percent fall in year-on-year terms.
The number of visitors from Mainland China shrank by 81.0 percent to slightly less than 2.32 million. The number of Hong Kong visitors declined by 78.8 percent to 651,380, and the number from Taiwan region shrank by 81.6 percent to 81,302. Tourist arrivals from the United States, Australia and Canada declined to 13,469, 7,904 and 6,175 respectively.
Average hotel occupancy rate down
Data from the Statistics and Census Service also shows a fall in hotel occupancy in the first five months of the year.
The average occupancy rate for all hotels and guesthouses fell to 30.4 percent in the January to May period, a decline of 61.0 percentage points from a year earlier. The total number of guests was nearly 1.70 million, down by 70.7 percent in comparison to the same period last year.
The average room rate in Macao hotels from January to April was MOP 1,079.0, or 21.2 percent less than a year earlier, according to data from the Macau Hotel Association.
| Visitor spending down 70.4 percent in first quarter Official data indicate that visitors to Macao spent MOP5.01 billion in the first quarter of this year (excluding gaming), or about 70.4 percent less than during the same period last year. The Macao SAR Government Statistics and Census Service says the decrease is a result of a steep decline in visitor numbers. The data released in May by the city’s statistics bureau shows first-quarter spending per visitor declined to an average of MOP1,555, a 4.8-percent fall. Spending per head by visitors from Mainland China fell by 3.2 percent to an average of MOP1,789. The total amount spent by visitors that stayed in Macao at least one night in the first quarter fell to MOP3.78 billion – a 70.8-percent reduction in year-on-year terms – which means each spent an average of MOP2,484 or about 9 percent less than a year earlier. The total amount spent by same-day visitors fell by 69.3 percent to MOP1.23 billion. Each same-day visitor spent about MOP723 on average, an increase of about 1.6 percent compared to the same stage last year. |
| Macao’s hotel inventory to increase by 11,000 rooms The number of hotel rooms in Macao is set to increase over the next few years. As of the first quarter this year, there were 15 hotel projects under construction and a further 26 projects in planning stage, according to the latest data from the Macao SAR Government Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau. That would together provide the city with 11,227 new hotel rooms, of which 6,775 are already under construction. |