Tourism and general travel to Macau, along with some non-gaming services at the city’s casino resorts, were disrupted by the passage of a typhoon with the moniker “Tapah”.
General disruption began for air and sea transport a number of hours before a Typhoon Signal No.8 was hoisted at 9pm on Sunday (September 7), with air services in particular still facing issues even after the alert was lowered to Signal No.3 at 3pm on Monday.
According to GGRAsia’s checks, all the casino resorts in the city’s Cotai district and on Macau peninsula announced some form of suspension to elements of their non-gaming services for periods after the Signal No.8 went up, with the suspensions ending after the Signal No.3 was hoisted on Monday. Paused services included some restaurants, shops and outdoor facilities, as well as free shuttle bus services.
One outlet at the Inner Harbour district – an area prone to flooding – of the Mocha Clubs Macau chain of slot clubs run by Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd was closed for the same period, commonly a precaution taken at that venue during typhoons. The information was confirmed by Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
Earlier this month, brokerage Seaport Research Partners noted that its estimate of 13-perecent growth in September’s Macau casino gross gaming revenue “could be negatively impacted if any typhoons in the area impact travel into Macau.”
“Last year, September was negatively impacted by two major typhoons, somewhat offset by high VIP hold,” said senior analyst Vitaly Umansky in a note last week.
Due to the typhoon, Macau International Airport saw an aggregate of 91 flights – inbound and outbound – cancelled on Sunday and Monday, 41 of which were to or from mainland China. Other cancellations involved flights scheduled to destinations in Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.
Ferry services between Macau and Shenzhen – a mainland China city adjacent to Hong Kong – were suspended throughout most of Sunday and the whole of Monday, according to information from Macau’s Marine and Water Bureau.
Ferries between Macau and Hong Kong were suspended from Sunday evening and resumed on Monday afternoon once Signal No.3 came into force in both cities.
Cross-border tourist coach services between Macau and Hong Kong via the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge were also disrupted during the passage of Typhoon Tapah, resuming on Monday afternoon as the alert was lowered to Signal No.3.
