Tourism HKZMB brings high-value visitors, says study

A study conducted by a market research firm shows that visitors arriving in the Macau SAR via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge spend over a third more than visitors arriving through seaports.

The study, conducted and released by CSG Research, revealed that visitors who travelled to the region via the bridge have spent MOP4,280 per head on average, 32% more than those who arrived through the city’s two ferry terminals.

Shopping is the highest spend sector, as it found that visitors who travelled via the bridge spent double (117% more than visitors who travelled via ferry) on retail, as well as 40% more on entertainment, compared to those who traveled through seaports.

The study also found that 78% of visitors who travelled via the bridge expressed their intention to visit Macau more frequently while only 32% who travelled through seaports wanted to revisit Macau.

While 37% of visitors who travelled via the Bridge stated that they would stay longer in the city, only 17% of those who entered the SAR through seaports stated the same intention.

Derek Yu, research director of CSG, commented, “The HZMB is yet to function to its full capacity, as it is presently limited to licensed vehicles only. But official data has already shown that visitors’ numbers surged 21% yearly in the first quarter of 2019.”

“From our study, it is estimated that the potential contribution of the bridge to the Macau economy is MOP16.4 million per day. Therefore, it is meaningful to study the travel behavior of visitors arriving via the bridge and continuously monitor the impact of the HZMB on Macau,” Yu added.

The study also noted that visitors who entered Macau via HZMB also traveled in larger groups and that an average group size of 2.6 persons was recorded, larger than the 2.2 persons per group of those arriving through the ferry terminals. LV