Macau’s October Golden Week numbers come in under forecast
Retailers in Macau’s tourism districts reported weak consumer spending.
Macau.- The Public Security Police Force (CPSP) has reported that Macau received 1.14 million visitor arrivals during October’s Golden Week, which ran from October 1 to 8, slightly below then forecast of 1.2 million. The average daily number of visitors stood at around 143,000 visitors, behind the forecast of 150,000.
The figure surpassed 2024’s tally of around 993,117 visitor arrivals by 15.3 per cent, which is unsurprising as it was a longer holiday period this year as National Day coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival, creating an eight-day break. The daily average was up nearly 1 per cent.
Golden Week consumer spending disappoints
Retailers in Macau’s tourism districts reported weak consumer spending. According to Exmoo News, retailers in areas such as Senado Square and Rua da Felicidade said that sales were lower than expected.
The president of the Central and Southern District Chamber of Commerce, Lei Cheok Kuan, commented that while foot traffic around sites such as the Ruins of St. Paul’s was strong, spending was worse than during the May Day holiday. He attributed this to the sluggish mainland economy, which has dampened consumer confidence as welll as a generational change in spending behaviour. “Younger visitors, the Gen Z group, have different expectations,” he said.
On the first day of Golden Week, Macau recorded over 673,000 border crossings and 139,000 visitors, increasing to 164,000 the following day and a peak of 191,176 on Saturday (October 4) before declining to 113,051 on Sunday as travel to and from Macau was impacted by Typhoon Matmo. Saturday’s visitor tally represented an 18.1 per cent year-on-year increase and a new record for National Day holiday entries.
JP Morgan reported that casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau was MOP5.5bn (US$686.1m) in the first five days of October. That’s a daily average of MOP1.1bn (US$138m). Analysts DS Kim, Selina Li and Lindsey Qian said in a memo that it was the “best Golden Week print in five-plus years.” Their full-month forecast remains unchanged at between 11 and 13 per cent growth year-over-year to a six-year high of MOP$23bn (US$2.87bn).
