Visitors’ total expenditure excluding gaming expenses surged by 292.2 percent year on year to 71.25 billion last year, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.
A DSEC statement attributed the increase in spending to last year’s 394.9 percent rise in visitor arrivals. Moreover, the statement pointed out that visitors’ spending rose by 11.2 percent compared to pre-pandemic 2019. Macau recorded its first COVID-19 case in January 2020. The pandemic severely affected Macau’s tourism and gaming industries between early 2020 and late 2022.
Overnight and same-day visitors expenditure reached 60.18 billion patacas and 11.07 bill patacas respectively, up by 303.5 percent and 240.6 percent respectively.
Visitors’ per capita spending reached 2,525 patacas last year, a 55.3 percent growth compared to 2019. However, last year’s figure fell by 20.8 percent year on year, which the bureau attributed to the relatively high base of comparison in 2022 that resulted from mainlanders shopping in Macau during the quarantine-free travel arrangement between the special administrative region and the mainland, as well as mainlanders’ particularly strong demand for mid-to-high-end consumer products at that time.
Meanwhile, last year’s per-capita spending by overnight visitors (4,230 patacas) and same-day visitors (791 patacas) dropped by 29.6 per cent and 21.7 percent year on year respectively.
Visitors’ per-capita spending on shopping (1,219 patacas) and food & beverages (478 patacas) dropped by 42.3 percent and 2.1 percent year on year respectively, while expenditure on accommodation (647 patacas) and transport (101 patacas) grew by 50.9 percent and 36.6 percent.
In terms of per-capita spending, South Koreans (3,634 patacas), Thais (3,363 patacas) and mainlanders (3,055 patacas) made up Macau’s top-three major expenditure segments. Hongkongers’ expenditure amounted to merely 1,160 patacas.
The DSEC visitor expenditure survey data is collected at Macau’s major departure points.
Last year, Macau’s 30 casinos owned by six rival operators generated total gross gaming revenue (GGR) of 183.0 billion patacas. In 2023, visitors’ non-gaming expenditure corresponded to 38.9 percent of local casinos’ GGR.
Tourists make their way to Largo do Senado earlier this week. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
