With the October Golden Week approaching, Macau could see daily visitor numbers exceed 100,000 if the good weather continues.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), mentions that visitor numbers in August surpassed expectations, reaching over 3.65 million—an increase of nearly 10 percent compared to the same period in 2019, and more than 13 percent year-on-year. Fernandes emphasized that favorable weather has significantly contributed to these figures.
As of last week, hotel occupancy rates for the holiday period were around 70 percent, with five-star hotels nearly fully booked. The overall hotel occupancy rate for January to July stood at approximately 85.5 percent, slightly lower than in 2019, but with thousands more rooms available now.
Meanwhile, Wong Suk Yan, President of the Macau Hotel Association, expressed optimism about the upcoming holiday in an interview with the local newspaper Macau Daily.
She indicated that daily visitor numbers in September could exceed 120,000, and the hotel industry is eager to build on this momentum. She highlighted the need for measures to extend visitor stays and attract more international guests to bolster Macao’s tourism sector.
Currently, about 70 percent of visitors come from mainland China, with the remainder from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, averaging a stay of 1.2 days. The industry aims to explore various strategies to enhance visitor experiences and lengthen their stays.
Hotel prices 7% lower than May Golden Week
While room bookings for the upcoming October Golden Week appear satisfactory, macroeconomic challenges could dampen overall performance. Analysts from UBS Group AG report that 17 out of 31 tracked hotels are sold out or unavailable, a significant increase compared to both Labour Week earlier this year and last October’s Golden Week.
Despite this high demand, hotel prices are approximately 7 percent lower than during the first Golden Week of the year and remain unchanged from last October’s rates.
Kenneth Feng, executive director of MGM China, expressed optimism about achieving an overall occupancy rate of 95 to 100 percent.
Hoffman Ma, executive director of Success Universe Group, noted that occupancy rates for the first three days of the Golden Week have tentatively reached 80 to 90 percent, although room rates have decreased by 5 to 6 percent compared to last October.
UBS analysts forecast daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) to be around MOP900-950 million ($113-119 million) during the upcoming Golden Week, aligning with expectations from Labour Week 2024 and October Golden Week 2023. This forecast is bolstered by anticipated concert events and visitor growth from new Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) eligible cities.
However, Macquarie Equity Research analysts recently highlighted concerns about the quality of visitors, suggesting that while room bookings are decent, the overall demand from players may be weak. Economic uncertainties are expected to influence visitor behavior during the October 1st-7th period, leading to cautious sentiments among operators.