Macau GGR down 8% in third week of September

Macau’s GGR for the second week of September declined 8 per cent, with average daily revenue of MOP243m (US$30.3m).

Macau.- Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd has reported that Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) between September 13 to 19 was down 8 per cent when compared to the previous week. The city saw an average daily revenue of MOP243m (US$30.3m), down from the MOP264m in the previous week, mainly due to VIP volatility.

The figure was also down 66 per cent when compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, VIP average volume was up between 60 per cent to 65 per cent month-on-month and daily mass GGR was up 70 per cent when compared to last month. GGR for the current month to date is MOP4.8bn (US$$598m).

According to analysts, the week-on-week decline cannot be attributed to a new outbreak of Covid-19 cases in China’s Fujian province since visitors from Fujian “only account for 5 per cent” of Macau’s mainland tourist volume.

Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd expects Macau’s GGR for September will be down 60 per cent against pre-pandemic levels as long as the city won’t be affected by another Covid-19 outbreak.

Analysts also noted that it’s unlikely Macau will return to April and August GGR levels until October when the city expects to receive around 35,000 visitors a day during the October Golden Week.

Macau announces return of “Stay, Dine and See” initiative

In a bid to boost domestic tourism, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has announced that it will resume the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” initiative from September 18.

The scheme lets Macau residents book government-subsidised staycations at hotels and guest houses. It was temporarily halted after local cases of Covid-19 were detected in Macau. It will now remain in place until the end of December with 13 adjusted itineraries.

According to the MGTO, between April 15 to July 31, nearly 32,961 people signed up and 17,492 hotel packages were sold through the initiative.