Macau hotel guests up 160.2% in March

The Macau Statistics and Census Bureau has reported that the average occupancy rate at Macau hotels was up 16.9 per cent from the previous month.

Macau.- The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) has reported that 622,000 tourists checked into Macau hotels & guesthouses in March, up 160.2 per cent year-on-year.

The DSEC also reported that 754,541 tourists came to Macau in March, up 255.4 per cent from March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and up 76.6 per cent from February 2021.

The average occupancy rate of guest rooms stood at 55.3 per cent, which represents a growth of 16.9 per cent compared with February 2021 and 31.1 per cent year-on-year.

For the first quarter of 2021, the average occupancy rate of guest rooms was 44.9 per cent, with the number of guests of hotels & guesthouses dropping by 1.2 per cent year-on-year to 1,454,000.

The numbers are encouraging as Macau’s hotels and casino operators prepare for the Labour Day break.

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) deputy director Cheng Wai Tong has forecast that Macau could see a hotel occupancy rate of between 70 per cent to 80 per cent over the Labour Day holiday.

Casino operators hope the rise in tourists arrivals might be reflected in a stronger daily gross gaming revenue (GGR).

According to SJM Holdings Ltd, Macau’s daily GGR could reach MOP400m (US$50m) during the first days of May.