Visitors to Macao spent about MOP11.9 billion on goods and services in full-year 2020, according to official figures released late in February. The amount spent by visitors in the 12 months fell by about 81.4% compared to 2019, due to a significant decrease in the number of visitor arrivals. Per-capita spending of visitors however increased by 24.5% year-on-year, with each visitor staying overnight spending 29.3% more. Visitor’s satisfaction also increased last year.
Included in the data released by the Macao SAR Government Statistics and Census Service is expenditure on food and drink, accommodation, shopping and transport, but not spending related to gaming.
Macao saw an 85.0% year-on-year decline in tourist arrivals for 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the full-year inbound-tourist tally at nearly 5.90 million, according to official data.
Visitor spending data showed visitors that stayed at least one night in Macao spent nearly MOP9.79 billion in 2020, 80.4% less than in the previous year. Single-day visitors spent about MOP2.15 billion, an 84.8% decline in year-on-year terms.
Higher per-capita spending
Each visitor to Macao spent an average of MOP2,025 in 2020 or about 24.5% more than a year earlier, with spending of visitors from mainland China (MOP2,252) rising by 22.8%. The average sum spent by visitors staying overnight was MOP3,468, up 29.3% from a year earlier, and the average sum spent by visitors staying for a day was MOP700, or 3.0% more in year-on-year terms.
Among the visitors that came to Macao for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions last year, the average amount spent per capita was MOP3,117, about 17.6% less than the figure for 2019. Holidaymakers spent an average of MOP3,376 in 2020, up 48.9% in year-on-year terms.
Per-capita shopping spending of visitors stood at MOP1,122, an increase of 51.1% year-on-year, while spending on cosmetics and perfume (MOP420), and local food products (MOP224) rose by 64.6% and 2.1% respectively. Moreover, per-capita spending on accommodation (MOP432) and food and beverage (MOP367) showed respective growth of 2.4% and 10.6%.
Visitors’ satisfaction rate on the rise
Information accumulated from visitor surveys throughout the year found that satisfaction with services and the city’s infrastructure had improved. The proportion of visitors surveyed that expressed their satisfaction with hotel services in Macao grew to 91.4% in 2020, up by 2.6 percentage points from the previous year.
Some 89.4% of the visitors surveyed said they felt satisfied with shopping in Macao, up by 5.4 percentage points from 2019. The proportion of visitors that expressed their satisfaction with restaurant services grew by 5.6 percentage points year-on-year, to 86.7% in 2020.