Macau ranks eighth in per capita tourism spending

Per capita spending of visitors to Macau amounted to $2,062 last year, according to Globehunters, leading the special administrative region to rank eighth worldwide in terms of per capita tourism spend.

However, the calculation was based on a total visitor spend of $35.5 billion and the number of visitors reaching 17.22 million. According to official data from the government, visitor arrivals in reached 32.6 million in 2017, the year for which data was used to compile the ranking.

The ranking, which used data provided by the World Tourism Organization, shows the regions that are the priciest places to visit.

Australia topped the rankings, with an average spend per tourist of $4,734, and over $41.73 billion in total for its annual tourism spend.

Luxembourg and Lebanon came in second and third respectively in terms of per capita spend, with an average spend per tourist of $4,322 and $4,099 respectively. Their total spend amounted to $4.51 billion and $7.61 billion respectively.

The report also highlighted New Zealand and the USA as part of the top five countries for big spenders.

Hong Kong was ranked 29th in per capita spend, with over 27.8 million tourists per year and an average spend per tourist amounting to $1,194. The HKSAR’s annual tourism spend was $33.3 billion, ranking 11th in this metric.

However, the neighboring region’s ranking may change, as the city continues to see a dive in tourist arrivals with protests deterring visitors. 

Along with spend per person, the report also listed the countries that make the most money from tourism. The USA ranked first, bringing in a total of over $210 billion. Macau was ranked ninth, with visitors boosting the SAR’s economy by $35.5 billion in 2017.

Other Asian countries that were included in the top 10 included Thailand and Japan, where revenue from tourism amounted to $57.5 billion and $34 billion respectively.

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) for the second quarter of this year indicated that total spending – excluding gaming expenses – of visitors in the second quarter of 2019 dropped by 4.8% year-on-year to MOP15.71 billion, or about $2 billion.

Earlier this year, the Times reported that local retailers have seen little to no improvement in their business in the last quarter of 2018, despite a boost in the number of visitor arrivals. LV