Total spending by tourists in Macau in the fourth quarter of 2022, excluding gambling expenses, increased by 66.6 percent compared to the previous quarter, to MOP4.83 billion (US$603.8 million), said the city’s Statistics and Census Service in an announcement on Thursday.
The jump mirrored the 48.6-percent sequential increase in visitor arrivals for the same period, to just over 1.3 million. That coincided with relaxation of preventive travel measures against Covid-19, led by changes to mainland China’s control policy regarding the pandemic.
In January, the city’s gaming regulator had said fourth-quarter casino gross gaming revenue surged by 87.0 percent compared to the previous three months, to just under MOP10.38 billion.
The statistics bureau noted in Thursday’s statement that in the last three months of 2022 visitors spent an average of MOP3,614 while visiting Macau. That compared to an average spending of MOP3,222 in the previous quarter.
Shopping accounted for 62.5 percent of total non-gaming spending by visitors in the fourth quarter, followed by food and beverage (17.2 percent) and accommodation (14.1 percent).
For full-year 2022, total non-gaming spending of visitors to Macau stood at MOP18.17 billion, representing a decline of 25.7 percent in year-on-year terms.
