Briefs | Visitor arrivals bounce in just 90% decline

Visitor arrivals declined by more than 90% in June, according to the latest information released by the Statistics and Census Service, showing some improvement over the previous months as border restrictions slightly eased. There were 22,556 visitor arrivals in June, of which same-day visitors accounted for 13,205. The average length of stay of visitors extended by 0.2 days year-on-year to 1.4 days, while the duration for overnight visitors increased by 3.4 days to 5.6 days on account of the 14-day quarantine requirement for many inbound visitors. In the first half of 2020, the number of visitor arrivals fell 83.9% year-on-year to 3.26 million, with the majority traveling to the SAR in January, before the full effects of the coronavirus were felt.

Subsidy cards boosts restaurant spending in May

Attributed to a boost in consumer spending spurred by the launch of electronic consumption cards subsidized by the government, the proportion of interviewed restaurants reporting year-on-year revenue growth was higher in May than in April. According to data released by the Statistics and Census Service, 73% of the interviewed establishments reported a year-on-year decline in receipts, a decrease of 16 percentage points from April. Meanwhile, the proportion recording a year-on-year increase in receipts in May 2020 rose by 12 percentage points from April to 17%. In terms of the business outlook for June, the proportion of interviewed restaurants who thought their business would remain steady or show growth rose by 6 percentage points from May to 25%. Meanwhile, one-third of the restaurants anticipated a year-on-year decline of 50% or more in receipts.

Consumer prices hike driven by food and rent

Consumer prices rose in June on the back of increased food and housing costs, according to the latest data provided by the Statistics and Census Service. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.94% year-on-year in June, a rise attributable to higher prices for fresh pork, rising charges for eating out and an increase in rental prices on housing. Analyzed by sector, prices in the health sector rose 5.3%, while education rose 5.2% in year-on-year terms. The data released did not specify the actual increase in food and housing prices, however. Meanwhile, the price indexes for communications fell by 9.2%, and that of clothing and footwear fell 7.5%. For the 12 months ending June 2020, the average Composite CPI, which reflects the impact of price changes on households in Macau, rose by 2.4% year-on-year.