Hotel occupancy in 2022 at just 38.4%, the second lowest rate ever

The hotel occupancy rate in Macau throughout 2022 was 38.4%, according to an official release from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

The figure represents a drop of 11.7% year-on-year when compared to 2021, and is the second lowest hotel occupancy ever recorded in Macau after the 28.6% registered in 2020.

This is also only the second time since 1997 that the hotel occupancy rate in Macau has dipped below the 50% mark, a fact that is solely attributable to the border restrictions imposed throughout the year and especially in the second half of 2022.

The number of hotel guests has also fallen by 22.8% year-on-year to 5,113,000, largely due to a decrease in the number of guests from the mainland by 3,867,000 (-28.1%).

The occupation rate dip was only partially offset by the increase in the number of local guests, which reached 907,000 (+1.5%).

Unaffected by these decreases, the average length of stay remained stable at 1.8 nights.

In December 2022, the average occupancy rate of guest rooms dropped by 12% year-on-year to 42.8%, when compared to the same month of 2021. Dropping less than average in the sector were the 5-star hotels, which dipped by 13.9% to 39.2%.

In the same month, the number of hotel guests fell by 29.8% year-on-year to 457,000. Again, the most significant drop was seen in the guests from the mainland, which stood at 343,000 (-35.4%).

This month, the number of local guests (77,000) also fell significantly (-9.9%).

The number of visitors joining local tours surged by 101.2% year-on-year to 6,100, contributing massively to some stability in the tourism sector in December last year. The number of residents purchasing outbound services (measured in bookings for transport, accommodation, and sightseeing tours) through travel agencies declined by 41.6% to 5,800. Across 2022, the number of local tour visitors dropped by 10.8% year-on-year to 36,000, while the number of residents purchasing outbound services through travel agencies plunged by 68.4% to 47,000.