The price index for Macau hotel and guesthouse accommodation rose nearly 21 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, according to data published on Monday by the city’s Statistics and Census Service.
It contributed – along with a 4 percent increase in the cost of restaurant services – to a 5.59-percent year-on-year rise in the city’s overall tourist price index, to 142.51 points. The index excludes gaming services.
For the final three months of 2017, the price index for transport and communications increased by nearly 7 percent, but that for clothing and footwear registered a near 5-percent decrease.
Judged quarter-on-quarter, Macau’s fourth-quarter tourist price index rose 9.95 percent.
For full-year 2017, Macau’s average tourist price index for 2017 rose by only 0.77 percent year-on-year to 131.87, after two years of decline, according to the data outlined on Monday.
The announcement said the increase across the year was mainly attributable to rising charges for hotel accommodation and restaurant services, and dearer prices of Chinese local food products. But falling prices of “clothing and handbags” as well as lower airfares had a moderating effect on the index expansion.
Analysed by sector of goods and services, price indices of restaurant services and accommodation grew by 5.11 percent and 4.97 percent respectively year-on-year in calendar year 2017. Those for clothing and footwear, and transport and communications, fell by 7.16 percent and 6.52 percent respectively.
