Visitor spending totaled MOP6.6b in Q1

The total expenditure by visitors (excluding gaming expenses) rose by 6.7% year-on-year to MOP6.59 billion in the first quarter of 2022, despite the consecutive downturn in visitor arrivals from January to March.

Despite the casino sector being on the brink of revenue downturn, Macau’s total expenditure by same-day visitors (MOP1.26 billion) leapt by 114.5% year-on-year while that of overnight visitors (MOP5.33 billion) dropped by 4.7%.

Per-capita spending of visitors in the first three months, however, fell by 1.2% year-on-year to MOP3,514, mainly due to the growth in the number of same-day visitors with relatively low spending, according to a statement issued by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

Per-capita spending of overnight visitors (MOP7,833) and same-day visitors (MOP1,056) showed a respective rise of 28.7% and 46.9%. 

Visitors from mainland China spent MOP3,582 on average, down by 1.8% year-on-year; while per-capita spending of those traveling under the Individual Visit Scheme (MOP7,173) edged up by 0.6%.

January saw a series of new outbreaks in the neighboring region, causing local authorities to impose strict border entry measures to deter the spread of new Covid-19 variants.

In January, visitor arrivals stood at 694,430, representing a decrease of 15.4% in arrivals month-on-month due to the tightening of border-control measures between Zhuhai and Macau.

The arrivals further decreased in February with 655,505 recorded, while March plummeted to 526,912, owing to the resurgence of the pandemic in the neighboring regions. 

As regards the source of visitors, the number of visitors from mainland China declined 31.9% year-on-year to 468,995, with 91,099 of these traveling under the Individual Visit Scheme. 

In the first quarter of 2022, the number of visitor arrivals increased by 8.0% year-on-year to 1,876,847.

Further, as regards to the type of expense, visitors spent over 70% of their spending on shopping (70.1%) in the first quarter, followed by food & beverage (13.9%) and accommodation (12.7%).