Higher hotel prices in the third quarter helped push up Macau’s Tourist Price Index by nearly 4.43 percent quarterly, boosted by the summer holiday.
Hotel room rates drove the Accommodation price index to rise by 24.38 percent sequentially, although on a yearly basis this only rose by a little over 3.5 percent.
But while hotel prices rose, other non-gaming metrics failed to see significant increases.
Restaurant service prices fell, by 2.75 percent quarterly (despite rising by 3.52 percent yearly).
Another focus of Macau’s economic diversification strategy – Entertainment and Cultural Activities – saw a quarterly price rise of just 1.87 percent, while undergoing a 13.33 percent drop yearly.
This comes despite some of the larger concerts held during the summer period, with overall prices for large-scale concerts at integrated resorts likely offset by more events being held as part of the gaming operators’ mandate to increase their entertainment offerings.
But luxury spending saw an uptick, with jewelry and watch prices up by 5.57 percent quarterly and 16.34 percent yearly. Jewelry prices were up 16.34 percent yearly but only 5.57 percent quarterly, while watch prices rose 12.1 percent quarterly and nearly 13.3 percent yearly. This bodes well for luxury goods retailers worried about the downturn in China’s economy.
Macau hasn’t yet published the September statistics or tourism arrivals to flesh out the third quarter data but prices for outbound tourism remained subdued, rising just 2.54 percent quarterly and falling by 1.32 percent annually.
Fourth quarter data should display a spike in prices, aided by the Golden Week period as well as the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Macau as a Special Administrative Region (in December), which is expected to bring China’s top leadership to the city.
However, previous major commemorations involving top political visits from mainland China have typically driven down gaming spend in higher tiers as high-rolling punters shy away from the increased security surrounding such events. Other non-gaming metrics should rise during the holiday.
