Chinese tourists will prefer Macau over Hong Kong

A survey from Morgan Stanley found that with travel visas being reinstated, inbound tourists are more likely to choose Macau.

Macau.- As individual and group travel visas are to return for some areas of mainland China, a survey from Morgan Stanley predicts tourists will chose Macau over Hong Kong.

The survey was carried out by the research unit Morgan Stanley AlphaWise amongst 2,667 Chinese residents aged 18-49 from Tier 1-3 cities.

The results showed that 58 per cent still fear catching Covid-19 when travelling abroad, and another 46 per cent don’t want to get stuck away from home if lockdown measures and travel restrictions are imposed again.

Since travel options are still scarce and Macau has remained without new community transmitted cases of Covid-19 for over 130 days, the research firm says it is very likely the city will be seen as a better option for Chinese tourists instead of Hong Kong once the visas system returns to all provinces.

The analysts said: “We expect significant increase in visitation/GGR over the next three months as more IVS (Individual Visitor Scheme) visas are issued from Zhuhai (from August 12), Guangdong (August 26) and whole of China (September 23).”

While restrictions remain, less than 6 per cent of respondents confirmed they already have intentions to travel to Macau, hence Morgan Stanley still foresees a period of low gaming revenue ahead for the city.