Staycation booking volumes expected to grow in Summer holiday

At present, Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau has registered around 1,000 bookings under the government-initiated domestic travel scheme “Stay, Dine and See Macao,” Rutger Verschuren, general manager of Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau, told the Times yesterday.
“I have to say there’s a big boost for the first week of May [the May Golden Week from May 1 to 5),” he disclosed. Verschuren is also Area vice president for the Macau Operation at Artyzen Hospitality Group.
Considering that each resident in Macau is only granted one subsidy of MOP200 for accommodation under the scheme, Verschuren suspects that a significant number of people have been saving the one-time quota for the summer holiday.
He expects that the staycation booking volumes will grow noticeably in July and August.
When asked about the prospect of tourism, he said, “I’m quite positive. I hope we will be cease to be making monthly losses by the end of this year.”
Meanwhile, Verschuren is pinning hope on the reinstatement of Tourist Group Visa for trips into Macau by the Chinese government, and the reopening of Hong Kong-Macau border, to further boost visitation.
But he suggests the Macau government give local hoteliers a heads-up prior to the border opening with Hong Kong, if it happens, to give them time to deploy sufficient manpower and lay the groundwork for a surge in demand.

Hotel hits 70% occupancy rate at May Golden Week

The May Golden Week is just a week away, but the occupancy rate for Artzyen Grand Lapa Macau has already hit 70%, peaking from May 1 to 3 during the holiday week.
“Last month [in April], we had Easter Holiday, which [also had pretty good occupancy rates]. But this May will be even better than Easter,” Verschuren disclosed.
Verschuren is also expecting the occupancy rate to continue to pick up from May.
Earlier on April 20, Cheng Wai Tong, sub-director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, said he is feeling hopeful about the tourist arrivals during the coming May Golden Week, which he expects will hit a record high since the outbreak of coronavirus.