Hotel bookings half-empty after China outbreaks: Report

Macau’s hotel sector insiders have lamented over the Mid-Autumn Festival, finding it hard to tell if the occupancy rate target of 70-80% suggested last week could be achieved amid the Covid relapse in mainland China, the Macau Daily News reported.

The mainland reported 323 local Covid cases yesterday, along with 1,247 local asymptomatic cases. 58 symptomatic infections were found on Monday in Guangdong Province.

In light of this and visa issues, hotel bookings for the festive period currently stand at about 40-50%. It is unclear if these bookings will be honored by customers.

The conservative outlook is based on Covid-19 relapses in several regions in mainland China discouraging travel across the country.

With China still abiding by its zero-Covid policy, lockdowns or other restrictions are in place in areas with new cases.

As such, people who reside in affected regions will not be allowed to travel. People in other regions may be discouraged from traveling even to lower risk areas.

Difficulty obtaining travel endorsements is also an issue. 

Hoteliers have pointed out that, against such a backdrop, it is difficult to be optimistic about tourism performance over the holiday period.

Despite the city allowing certain foreigners to enter, it is still not very appealing as quarantine requirements remain in place. AL