Tourism in Macau: hotel occupancy rate reaches 85.4% in first nine months of the year

Occupancy was up by 4.8 percentage points year-on-year.

Macau.- The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) has reported that the average hotel occupancy rate in Macau was 85.4 per cent in the first nine months of the year, a rise of 4.8 percentage points year-on-year. Macau hotels received 10,889,000 guests, up 11.2 per cent in year-on-year terms. Guests stayed an average of 1.7 nights.

There were 144 hotel establishments offering accommodation services at the end of September, an increase of 7 in year-on-year terms. There were 44,000 rooms available, down 3.3 per cent year-on-year.

The average occupancy rate of hotel rooms increased by 4.8 percentage points compared to last year, reaching 85.4 per cent. The occupancy rates for 5-star (87.5 per cent), 4-star (81.2 per cent), and 3-star hotels (82.9 per cent) saw respective increases of 6 percentage points, 3 percentage points, and 2.4 percentage points.

The number of international visitors (779,000) increased by 86.8 per cent. Arrivals from the Republic of Korea (229,000) rose by 143.5 per cent, while visitors from Japan (60,000), Malaysia (57,000), Thailand (47,000), and Singapore (43,000) grew by 80.8 per cent, 85.2 per cent, 61.2 per cent, and 47.7 per cent respectively.

Inbound package tour visitors totalled 1,497,000, a 101.2 per cent yearly increase, with those from mainland China rising by 91 per cent to 1,332,000. In addition, international tour visitors jumped by 276 per cent to 142,000. Some 426,000 Macau citizens contracted travel agencies for outbound services, a rise of 46.2 per cent compared to the previous year. The number of residents travelling on package tours rose by 106.9 per cent year-on-year, reaching 151,000, with 137,000 visiting mainland China.

September results

In September, 134,000 inbound package tour visitors were recorded, down by 0.5 per cent in year-on-year terms. Tour visitors from mainland China dropped by 4.4 per cent year-on-year to 117,000. International tour visitors were up by 51.7 per cent to 14,000, with those coming from the Republic of Korea (7,000) and India (1,000) rising by 49.1 per cent and 184.6 per cent respectively.

The average occupancy rate of guest rooms climbed by 6.4 percentage points year-on-year to 84.7 per cent. However, the number of guests dropped by 2.1 per cent year-on-year to 1,112,000. The average length of stay remained at 1.6 nights.

See also: Macau casinos: CICC forecasts 5% growth for GGR in Q4

25.9m visitors in first nine months of the year

The DSEC has reported that Macau received 25,920,914 visitors in the first nine months of the year. That’s an increase of 30.1 per cent when compared to last year and represents 85.8 per cent of the 2019 level.

Same-day visitors (13.83 million) rose by 42.8 per cent year-on-year and overnight visitors (12.05 million) by 18.1. The average length of stay shortened by 0.1 days in year-on-year terms to 1.2 days, with that of overnight visitors remaining unchanged at 2.3 days.

Mainland Chinese tourists accounted for the majority of arrivals at 18,217,413. That’s a rise of 36.3 per cent year-on-year but only 84.9 per cent of 2019 levels. The number travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS; 9,257,455) grew by 20.4 per cent year-on-year.

Visitors from Hong Kong reached 5,402,071, up 0.8 per cent year-on-year to 97.2 per cent of 2019 levels, while the number of tourists from Taiwan (623,880) reached 76.5 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels and was up 81.9 per cent compared to last year. International travellers totalled 1,677,550, up 95.1 per cent year-on-year to 70.7 per cent of 2019’s levels.

In terms of Southeast Asian markets, there was a 75.6 per cent increase in visitors from the Philippines (345,537), a 33.6 per cent increase from Indonesia (127,861), a 70.6 per cent increase from Thailand (95,108), and a 61.6 per cent increase from Singapore (74,156) in year-on-year terms. Visitors from Malaysia rose 136.4 per cent to 117,739.

In the South Asian markets, the number of visitors from India rose by 133.6 per cent to 77,071. From Northeast Asian markets, visitors from the Republic of Korea (341,497) and Japan (93,001) increased by 207 per cent and 102.6 per cent respectively. From long-haul markets, visitors from the USA (103,379) were up 83.2 per cent.

See also: Melco Resorts aims to bring more Korean tourists to Macau