Tourism-related spending falls by 4.5 percent in Q2

Spending by tourists decreased by 4.5 percent during the second quarter of this year when compared year-on-year with the same period of last year, as reported by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), after analyzing the results of a visitor expenditure survey.
According to the report, the total spending (excluding gaming expenses) amounted to MOP11.70 billion, which is MOP550 million less than that in 2015.
An approximate decrease of same-day visitors by 10 percent is one of the contributing factors for the reduction in spending. According to the data, the spending in Q2 has registered a slight raise (1.4 percent) when compared with the figures recorded in Q1 (MOP11.54 billion).
The Q2 per-capita spending of visitors was of MOP1,601, with the biggest decrease due to a drop in tourists arriving from Fujian Province by 31.1 percent.
On the other hand, per-capita spending of visitors from Japan (MOP1,731), Malaysia (MOP1,657), Hong Kong (MOP955) and Taiwan (MOP1,548) increased by 12.1, 10.1, 9.8 and 12.7 percent respectively.
The report also highlights that visitors have spent their money mostly on shopping (43.4 percent), accommodation (26.8 percent) and food & beverage (20.9 percent).
As for the areas that suggested most dissatisfaction from tourists, environmental hygiene and public facilities are still topping the list, being accountable respectively for 78.4 percent and 67 percent of complaints.  RM