Macau Tourist Price Index down by 0.38% to 116.65 in 2022
The decrease was primarily due to lower hotel rates. Prices of local food products, however, partly offset the decrease.
Macau.- The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) reported that Macau’s Tourist Price Index (TPI) in 2022 fell by 0.38 per cent yearly to 116.65. Authorities attributed the decrease to lower hotel rates. However, they were partially offset by higher local food prices.
The price index for accommodation decreased by 15.52 per cent year-on-year. The price indices of entertainment and cultural activities and food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco rose by 23.30 per cent and 5.11 per cent respectively.
As regards the fourth quarter of 2022, the TPI rose 0.17 per cent year-on-year to 119.27 due to higher local food prices. The price indices for entertainment and cultural activities, groceries, alcohol and tobacco, medicines and personal items rose by 23.13 per cent, 9.52 per cent and 5.24 per cent respectively year-on-year. The accommodation index fell by 19.50 per cent.
Compared with the third quarter of 2022, the TPI increased by 3.27 per cent in the fourth quarter. The accommodation price index rose 20.39 per cent month-on-month due to higher hotel room rates during the Chinese National Day holiday and the Motorsport Road Grand Prix in November.
Macau expects 50k daily tourists during Chinese New Year
The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is expecting 40,000 to 50,000 daily arrivals during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday, which begins on Sunday, January 22 and ends on Sunday, February 5. In 2019, pre-pandemic, they registered about 170,000 visitors per day during that break.
The reservation rate of Macau’s hotels for the Chinese New Year holiday period currently stands between just 30 and 50 per cent. Acting Director Cheng Wai Tong said that figure is expected to rise over the next two weeks: “There is still some time before the Chinese New Year holidays and the booking rate is expected to increase,” Cheng said. In 2022, the hotel occupancy rate was around 63 per cent, compared with 93 per cent in 2019.
From Sunday, January 8, most of Macau’s travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic came to an end and ferry services from Hong Kong were resumed after three years.
