Macau to continue attracting premium gamblers, survey finds

A CLSA survey forecasts continued premium travel to Macau for gambling over the next 12 months.

Macau.- A survey carried out by CLSA indicates that Macau will maintain its appeal to luxury travellers looking to gamble in the coming year despite economic uncertainty. The survey gathered responses from 800 Chinese nationals with prior gaming experience and found 78 per cent plannned to visit Macau by March 2025, with 84 per cent to stay multiple nights.

Some 70 per cent of respondents said they intended to visit Macau at least twice, a rise from 57 per cent last year, and 96 per cent expressed a preference for staying two nights or more. Macau’s appeal as a shopping destination also increased, with 65 per cent of respondents viewing it as more attractive post-Covid-19.

See also: Macau becomes top destination for mainland Chinese tourists

The study highlighted that 45 per cent of respondents could benefit from recent changes to the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). Since March, the IVS coverage has expanded to ten additional cities, including Qingdao, Xi’an, and Taiyuan, covering roughly 45 million residents. Analysts Jeffrey Kiang, Lance Noble, and Leo Pan said this should speed up the normalisation of visitations and gross gaming revenue.

Regarding spending, 95 per cent of respondents indicated they would maintain current spending levels, including on gaming, similar to last year’s results. Some 33 per cent of respondents planned to spend less than RMB5,000, while 27 per cent intended to spend between RMB5,000 and RMB25,000 and 16 per cent anticipated spending between RMB25,001 and RMB50,000.

Despite 56 per cent of visitors planning to visit at least two resorts during their trips, Sands China remains the top choice, with Venetian Macao the most appealing. The survey found that nearly all respondents consider Macau a safe destination.

See also: Macau sees rise in MICE tourism in Q1