Gaming revenues fall as China reduces travel to Macau

The impact of the new wave of infections in China has provoked a drop in GGR due to the lack of visitors in Macau, Bernstein says.

Macau.- Gaming revenues are falling in Macau due to a decline in visitation from mainland China, according to analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein.

Bernstein said that the decrease in the GGR is related to the tightening of the Covid-19 countermeasures in mainland China, as authorities extended mandated home quarantines, travel curbs and mass testing this month.

The Chinese government has taken new measures in an attempt to contain what has been the worst wave of Covid-19 infections in the country since March 2020.

The measures come as Chinese New Year approaches, leading to fears that they could seriously impact potential visitation numbers in the SAR during the holiday period between February 11 and 18.

According to Bernstein, gross gaming revenue in Macau for the month so far reached approximately MOP5.9bn (US$739m) with month-to-date average daily rates at MOP246m.

Analysts wrote in a report: “Last week’s ADR was the softest since the week after October Golden Week as customer travel has been reduced due to the rising Covid contagion and lockdowns in China.”

“Daily visitor arrivals to and departures from Macau have been in the mid-30,000s to low 40,000s per day […] We expect visitation to increase only slowly over the next months, assuming travel restrictions due to Covid are not increased”.

The director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes has said that the city could see lower arrivals during the Chinese New year period than at Christmas.