Strategy to draw in int’l tourists proving to be challenging

Though the idea of attracting more foreign visitors from long-haul markets to Macau is not new, it has recently become a government plan.

While official statistics have been showing long-haul visitor numbers are increasing, particularly from some Asian markets, it is unlikely there will be an increase from other markets such as Europe, European visitors interviewed by the Times said.

Macau is an unappealing destination to European tourists because of the travel distance, the difficulties in flight connections, and, more importantly, the costs.

The Times interviewed two Portuguese nationals traveling in Macau, Ana and Sofia.

They were in the region for a brief stay after an Asian tour that took them to Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The two women in their early 60s agree on something – “Macau is expensive!”

Confronted with the government plan to attract more foreign visitors, including visitors from Portugal, the pair believes it will be “very unlikely” that Macau will appeal to the “average Portuguese.”

This is despite the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) having taken a Roadshow to Portugal and established several partnerships to expand local promotion to neighboring Spain.

“We might believe that Macau, due to its historical relation with Portugal, could be appealing to the Portuguese but I doubt many will venture here, particularly due to the prices,” Ana said.

“Just minutes ago we were commenting that in some of the more touristic areas [in] Portugal, we are easily driven off a certain restaurant or bar just because a glass of wine costs EUR3 (MOP26),” said Ana.

“Well, the cheapest one that we have had over the past two days in Macau was about EUR8 (MOP68). This might not be such a big deal if we are talking about France or Germany, maybe, but for most Portuguese, it would be outrageous and unacceptable.”

The same feeling extended to accommodation. They do not believe the cost matches the quality.

“We were kind of lucky to have had a friend that came to Macau some time ago and pointed out some places [hotels] where we could potentially stay on a budget. It’s not too pricey but the quality is pretty bad,” Sofia said, identifying a hotel on Taipa Island.

As for the rest, “It’s nice, has some interesting historical places but I would say there is not so much to see or do here to justify staying more than two days,” Ana said, supplemented by Sofia’s, “We should have left yesterday.”

The pair said they were “quite surprised” by the prices charged by “street restaurants.”

“We were expecting the restaurants in the casinos to be expensive, they are everywhere in the world, including in Portugal, but we were surprised by the prices charged by the regular ones, the small and more traditional-looking ones on the streets,” Sofia said.

“It is way too expensive for the kind of food they serve,” she said, giving the Times a rough calculation of about MOP1,000 per person per day for lunch, dinner and a snack.

“This is about 40-50% more than we spend for the two of us eating at similar places in Portugal, even in tourist areas,” she said.

Expanding on her comments, she said it would be difficult for Macau to attract Portuguese visitors.

Sofia said it only makes sense to visit Macau as they did it, as part of a longer trip, with multi-destinations and never coming to visit Macau alone.

Besides, she said, “Most Portuguese when planning trips find locations where the costs of living are either similar to or lower than Portugal to compensate for the money spent on airfares and accommodation. Which is not the case in Macau.”

Also in Macau for a short stay was Francesca, a 46-year-old from Bologna, Italy, whom the Times found exploring the center.

Francesca said she had visited Macau to fill “free time” in a longer trip that took her to the neighboring cities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen for professional purposes.

“I knew that I had two days off in between some tasks and I planned to come to Macau since it is near [Hong Kong],” she said.

She found the city generally interesting and easy to navigate, particularly the tourist sites that are well-identified but, like Ana and Sofia, also found “not many things to see.”

“In just half a day I went to the Cathedral [Ruins of St. Paul’s], some smaller churches, and the main square area. After that, I went to the Macau Tower and visited the casinos in the downtown area, Lisboa, Wynn, etc. After that, I crossed the bridge and I went to the other area of the Venetian and Parisian, which I found horrible,”she said with a laugh.

“I liked the Taipa village more, it is more interesting than the fake things,” she said.

Francesca found the local food a little too expensive, noting Macau was more expensive than Hong Kong for food.

“In Hong Kong in the Central district, we have a lot of restaurants from all kinds of cuisines and local cafes where you can have a set lunch for about HKD128 or even HKD108.”

“But in Macau, the ones I found were serving similar food for about HKD168 or even higher prices and some did not even include any drinks,” she said, adding, “I also find the Chinese-style eateries more expensive here than in Hong Kong, and with a more limited menu on offer.”

Asked if she found Macau attractive for Italian visitors, she said, “I think only for those that are coming here for some particular purpose, like work or visiting friends,” she said.

“But I did notice that Macau has a potential for niche market particularly in luxury goods. Some of the shops I have visited have products from famous European labels and brands that are significantly cheaper than in Europe.”

“But with Hong Kong so close and better served by connections [air links] I am not sure if many people would make the extra effort just to come to Macau for those, but maybe it is possible if it is marketed in this way. To be honest I had no idea there were so many luxury brand stores in Macau until I came here.”

“In Hong Kong, Macau is marketed as the place of the Portuguese custard cake, the Pork Chop Sandwich, and the old Lisboa Casino, that’s all. If you ask me, if Macau wants to attract more non-Chinese visitors as you said, it probably should start [promoting] in Hong Kong rather than in other countries.”

WHAT THE FIGURES SHOW

A Times analysis of Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) data shows that while Macau is receiving this year a monthly average of more visitors from almost every country and region in the world, when compared year-on-year with 2023, in most cases this variation is not significant.

Taking as an example some of the European countries that have contributed over the years with larger shares of visitors to Macau, such as the UK, France, Russia, Germany, Portugal and Italy, the variation in monthly visitor numbers between 2023 and 2024 is significantly higher.

UK (+38%, + 918 people); France (+44.6%, +631 people); Russia (137.1%, +1,592 people); Germany (+85.2%, +810 people); Portugal (+55.8%, +280 people); Italy (+66%, +330 people).

However, of this group, only Russia has recorded visitor growth when compared with 2019. Over the first five months of this year, Russia contributed 144 visitors more than it did in 2019.

In all other cases, the balance is still negative, especially from the UK (-1,607 visitors per month) and France (-1,003 visitors per month), when compared with 2019.

After Russia, the European country that is closer to reaching the pre-pandemic level is the Netherlands, which is currently 168 visitors per month lower than the 2019 level.

In the global analysis, Vietnam is the only country this year that has supplied fewer visitors to Macau than in the previous year, with an average of 136 per month (-16 compared to 2023).

Several countries have already surpassed previous visitor numbers to Macau from the pre-pandemic times, including the Philippines (+5.7%, +2,007 visitors per month); Indonesia (+3.6%, +512 visitors per month); and Thailand (+4%, +499 visitors per month).

Gov’t projects six million summer tourists

The government is projecting tourist arrivals this summer will exceed six million.

Acting director of the Macao Government Tourism Office Cheng Wai Tong said that along with the implementation of a series of measures to benefit Macau, including the mainland increasing the tax exemption for luggage items for resident passengers entering from Hong Kong and Macau, arrivals in both July and August will exceed last year’s numbers.

The hotel occupancy rate will also maintain a good momentum. It is projected occupancy will reach 90%.

Macau’s travel industry is anticipating a summer spike in Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) tourists from mainland China, according to Andy Wu Keng Kuong, president of the Macau Travel Industry Council.

Wu cites several factors as contributing to the expected surge, including the recent addition of eight new mainland cities to the IVS scheme.