MACAU: Visitor Spending Goes Down Despite Chinese Lunar New Year

Total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) amounted to MOP13.46 billion during the first quarter of 2017, according to information published by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

This represented an increase of 16.6 percent year-on-year and a decline of 9 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2016.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, one of the busiest periods for tourism in Macau, falls during the first quarter of each year, while Golden Week falls during the fourth.

Analyzed by type of tourist, total spending of overnight visitors (MOP10.6 billion) and same-day visitors (MOP2.86 billion) increased by 19.6 percent and 6.7 percent year-on-year, respectively, during the first quarter of 2017.

During the first quarter, per-capita spending of visitors was MOP1,709, up by 10.5 percent year-on-year but down by 6.6 percent quarter-to-quarter.

DSEC said in a statement that the per-capita spending of visitors from mainland China rose by 13.6 percent year-
on-year to MOP2,002, with those from Guangdong Province and Fujian Province spending on average MOP1,630 and MOP1,291.

Per-capita spending of visitors from Singapore (MOP1,825), Malaysia (MOP1,625) and Taiwan (MOP1,607) grew by 11.6 percent, 0.4 percent and 1.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.

On the other hand, per-capita spending of visitors from Australia (MOP1,373), the United States (MOP1,211) and the United Kingdom (MOP1,118) declined.

Visitors spent mainly on shopping (43.7 percent), accommodation (26.9 percent) and food and beverage (21.3 percent).

Per-capita shopping spending increased by 10.4 percent year-on-year to MOP747, of which spending on local food products (MOP233) and cosmetics and fragrances (MOP201) rose by 4.5 percent and 36.9 percent respectively.

Analyzed by purpose of visit, those coming to Macau for MICE events had the highest per-capita spending at MOP3,286, up by 4.9 percent year-on-year, followed by shopping (MOP2,468), up by 19 percent.

The former category accounted for 0.5 percent of total visitors, while the latter constituted 10.8 percent.

Separately, the results of the Visitors’ Comments Survey showed a decrease in visitor satisfaction with all aspects of services and facilities in Macau during the first quarter of 2017.

Most notably, the proportion of visitors who were satisfied with public transport services dropped 1 percentage point quarter-to-quarter to 68.2 percent. DB