The momentum of visitor volume to Macau was maintained even for the weekend immediately following mainland China’s designated seven-day holiday to mark Chinese New Year (CNY).
There was in aggregate nearly 129,000 visitor arrivals to Macau on Saturday and Sunday, according to data from the city’s Public Security Police, the agency that runs the immigration checkpoints allowing entry to Macau. For the seven-day festive period from January 21 as demarcated by the mainland authorities, Macau saw nearly half a million arrivals.
On Saturday, the first post-holiday day, the tally was 65,957, with a majority via overland border crossing points linking Macau to mainland China’s Guangdong province. On Sunday, the total of arrivals was 62,891, with most being overlanders via Guangdong.
The daily average via all entry routes during the latest Chinese New Year period was 64,435, with the single-busiest day being the fourth of the festivities – January 24 – which saw 90,391. That was the most since before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, in early 2020.
China’s State Council had designated the holiday period for mainland residents as January 21, a Saturday, to January 27, a Friday, inclusive. The festive break in Hong Kong – another important source market for Macau’s tourists – had been designated as running from January 23 to January 25.
Brokerage JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd said in a note last week that visitor arrival tallies alone, had not “accurately” indicated the level of Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the past.
Linda Chen, vice chairman and an executive director of Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd, said at the weekend – as reported by public broadcaster TDM – that the firm’s hotel occupancy rate during the Chinese New Year holiday period had been “very satisfactory”.
The group runs self-branded hotels at its Wynn Macau venue on the city’s peninsula, and Wynn Palace in the Cotai district.
She stated regarding the hotel occupancy situation: “I hope this trend can be maintained in the long term.”
Ms Chen added: “We must keep up the good work that is being done, not only regarding the hotels and the tourism sector, but also in pursuit of the common goal of developing diversified tourism products in Macau.”
That was understood to be a reference to Macau’s public-policy aim of moving the city’s economy away from a focus on high-stakes casino gambling. Wynn Macau Ltd has previously been regarded by investment analysts as a leading element in the city’s VIP gambling market.
