Macau: package tours from mainland China to resume
Macau’s government has that announced package tours from mainland China to Macau will resume on Monday, February 6.
Macau.- The long-awaited resumption of package tours from mainland China to Macau will start on Monday (February 6). That’s according to Lei Wai Nong, Macau’s secretary for economy and finance, who said the move will “definitely give a significant boost” to the city’s tourism.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said tour groups to Macau would be allowed to come from all provinces in mainland China. The Macau government has been in discussions with mainland authorities since September last year to prepare for the gradual resumption of package tours.
To boost tourism and encourage tourists to extend their stay in Macau, the government announced a subsidy scheme for travel agencies in mid-December. The scheme, which will be implemented by the MGTO, offers up to MOP250 (US$31) per night per tourist from mainland China for tour groups with a minimum of 10 people.
Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR), grew by 232.6 per cent month-on-month in January, reaching MOP11.58bn (US$1.43bn). This increase coincided with the end of the ‘zero-Covid’ policies in China and Macau. During the Chinese New Year holiday, Macau saw just over 451,000 visitor arrivals.
Macau GGR may reach 60 per cent of 2019 levels by June, analysts say
Morgan Stanley has predicted that Macau’s monthly gross gaming revenue will reach 60 per cent of 2019 levels by June, with a year-on-year increase of 500 per cent.
It believes that mass revenue during the Chinese New Year holiday recovered to 72 per cent of the 2019 levels, driven by strong demand from grind and premium mass segments. It estimates that February gross gaming revenue will reach MOP 11.2bn, with a daily average of MOP 400mn – a 44 per cent year-on-year increase. That would be 44 per cent of February 2019 revenue.
