TOURISM | Online hotel reservations for 2013 surge by almost half

A survey on hotels and related establishments conducted by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) has found that receipts of local hotels and guesthouses generated from online transactions in 2013 rose significantly by 45 percent to MOP571 million.
Receipts from food & beverages and space rental totaled MOP5.58 billion and MOP4.71 billion respectively, up by 14 percent and 23 percent year-on-year.
Hotel industry receipts  reached MOP25.3 billion in 2013, which is 15 percent higher than the amount recorded a year ago. Hotel receipts from overseas also totaled MOP4.6 billion, with a year-on-year rise of 18 percent.
The receipts from room sales have increased by 17 percent to MOP11.94 billion, of which five-star hotels comprise 79 percent. It is suggested that the rise can be attributed to the increase in the number of tourists and rooms.
DSEC figures also suggest that in 2013, there were 67 hotels and 33 guesthouses operating in Macau. The number of employees hired by these hotels and guesthouses have risen one percent to 39,909, with 80 percent of them working in 28 five-star hotels.
An increase in receipts also sees a rise in expenditure. The expenditure of the hotel industry has grown by 10 percent to MOP21.54 billion. Among the expenditures were operating expenses, compensation of employees and purchase of goods and commission paid. These three items have risen 15 percent, five percent and 11 percent respectively to MOP10.33 billion, MOP8.18 billion and MOP3.02 billion.
Moreover, the Gross Value Added, which measures the sector’s contribution to the economy, has increased by 17 percent to MOP12.15 billion.