Analysts expect strong Labour Day break for Macau casinos
UBS AG has predicted strong revenue for Macau’s casinos.
Macau.- The upcoming Labour Day break could see Macau’s casino revenue rise amid the return of group tours and increased transport and hotel capacity. China’s State Council has marked April 29 to May 3 inclusive as the festive break, while Labour Day itself falls on May 1.
According to a memo from the investment bank UBS AG, out of the 26 hotels it tracks, 14 have already sold out their rooms or have not yet released them to cash-paying guests for the May Golden Week period.
Analysts at UBS said average nightly room rate among hotels in Macau for the period from April 20 to May 3 inclusive are around HKD5,500 (US$700.69), which is currently tracking above Chinese New Year levels, a reference to another peak business period.
UBS’s memo noted that over the last six days, Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) has been averaging MOP417m (US$51.6m) per day. This is up from the MOP400m daily average across the previous 10 days.
The current daily GGR average across VIP play and mass play is tracking at around 52 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, mass play by itself is “65 per cent to 75 per cent” of mass GGR from second-quarter 2019.
This year’s Chinese New Year, in late January, was the first without travel restrictions since the 2019 festival. Macau received 451,047 visitors during the holiday period between January 21 and 27. Brokerage CLSA Ltd also said that hotel room demand in Macau for May Golden Week is “strong“.
