Visitor spending continues its plunge for fourth consecutive quarter

Total visitor spending (excluding gaming activities) in the third quarter of 2019 dropped by 17.2% year-on-year to 15.2 billion patacas, with that of overnight visitors (12.19 billion patacas) and same-day visitors (3.01 billion patacas) decreasing by 20% and 3.2% respectively.

Although tourism arrivals continue to show strength, data from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the first three quarters of 2019, total spending of visitors amounted to 47.83 billion patacas, down by 6.7% year-on-year.

The total spending of overnight visitors (37.39 billion patacas) fell by 9.4%, whereas that of same-day visitors (10.45 billion patacas) increased by 4.6% on account of a 30.6% surge in number of same-day visitors.

The per capita spending of visitors decreased by 24.9% year-on-year to 1,532 patacas, marking a drop for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Per capita spending of visitors from mainland China (1,691 patacas) – Macau’s primary tourism market – decreased by 26.7%, with the spending of those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme falling by 13.8% to 2,172 patacas.

Per capita spending of visitors from Singapore (1,842 patacas), Japan (1,805 patacas), Hong Kong (969 patacas) and Taiwan (1,339 patacas) dropped by 17.4%, 6.6%, 16.2% and 21.7% respectively.

In terms of the type of spending, visitors primarily spent on shopping (45.2% of total spending), accommodation (26.9%) and food & beverage (20.5%). The per capita spending of visitors on shopping declined by 32.5% year-on-year to 693 patacas.

Analyzed by main purpose of visit, the per capita spending of visitors coming to the SAR for MICE events leapt by 67.4% to 4,319 patacas, driven by an increase in number of relatively high-spending MICE visitors from mainland China, as well as a low base of comparison in the same quarter last year.

Over the weekend, Melco Resorts & Entertainment CEO Lawrence Ho told CNBC that the U.S.-China trade war and the devaluation of the renminbi have impacted consumers’ spending. Ho believed that “the consumption numbers are certainly less than in previous years” and that spending is “a little bit lower” on the higher end of the business.  LV