Economy | Visitor spending halts 7-quarter decline

According to information released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) increased by 17.4 percent year-on-year to MOP14.64 billion in the third quarter of 2016, putting to an end the seven consecutive quarters of year-on-year decline. The third quarter also showed an expansion of more than 25 percent over the second quarter of 2016.

Total spending of overnight visitors during the quarter amounted to MOP11.92 billion, while that of same-day visitors reached MOP2.72 billion, rising by 21.5 percent and 2.1 percent year-on-year respectively.

Per capita spending of visitors increased by 17.3 percent year-on-year to MOP1,806 in the third quarter, while per capita spending of overnight visitors expanded by 11.5 percent to MOP2,809 year-on-year.

Analyzed by place of visitor origin, those from mainland China spent about 18.2 percent more in the third quarter (MOP2,100 per capita) than they did in the comparable period last year. The spending of those from Guangdong Province (MOP1,672) and Fujian Province (MOP1,411) rose by 16.2 percent and 27.6 percent year-on-year respectively.

Meanwhile, per capita spending of visitors from Singapore (MOP1,912), Hong Kong (MOP1,092) and Taiwan (MOP1,638) all saw double-digit growth, increasing by 17.1 percent, 19.7 percent and 16.9 percent respectively.

Among long-haul visitors, per capita spending of those from the United States (MOP1,177) dropped by 13 percent year-on-year, while Australians and British visitors spent on average MOP1,421 and MOP1,183 respectively, rising by 8.3 percent and 7.2 percent.

According to DSEC, visitors to the territory spent mainly on shopping (43.4 percent), accommodation (27.3 percent) and food and beverage (21.3 percent). Per capita spending on shopping increased by 16.8 percent year-on-year during the third quarter to MOP783.

Additionally, the results of the Visitors’ Comments Survey for the third quarter of 2016 indicate that 90.5 percent of surveyed visitors were satisfied with the services and facilities of hotels, up marginally by 0.4 percentage points quarter-to-quarter.

Visitors who expressed satisfaction with services of retail shops (85.0 percent), gaming establishments (83.5 percent) and tourist attractions rose by 2.5, 1.7 and 5.5 percentage points respectively. On the other hand, visitors satisfied with public transport (67.4 percent) saw a quarter-to-quarter decline of 3.3 percentage points.