Macau assesses tourist tax

The government conducted a survey on a new Macau tourist tax that showed the general public believes it should set it at over €11.

Macau.- A recent survey suggested Macau’s new tourist tax should be set at over €11, deputy director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Hoi Io Meng. The survey consulted Macanese residents, visitors to the city and members of the travel trade.

The government launched the study in May about the potential introduction of a Macau tourist tax to the city. It consisted of an opinion poll including case analysis and questionnaire exercises.

According to Mr Hoi, the government received over 12k opinions on the Macau tourist tax from residents. Furthermore, another 1.5k from tourists and about 150 comments from travel trade members.

“Our analysis is basically on two aspects: one is based on the opinions expressed by residents, tourists and the [travel] sector on how much it [the tourist tax] should be. Another aspect is to look at how much the other travel destinations charge regarding this tax,” Mr Hoi told local media.

The new Macau tourist tax is aimed at tackling issues relating to the city’s tourism capacity.

Macau’s growth

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination (DICJ) has reported that GGR in June totalled €2.6 billion. This figure announced by the city’s regulator is 5.9% higher than the same period of last year.

Gambling revenue in Macau had hit a five-month high in May, despite a slower demand from high rollers and a slowdown in Macau’s economy. In June it continued to grow from 2018, even though it was €200 million lower than last month’s results.

Analysts take

Financial firms had forecast different results for Macau’s GGR. According to Brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd, June’s results “exceeded expectations”.

“Average daily revenue (ADR) for June was €86.7 million (down 5% from May). While GGR for the first three weeks of June was weaker due to low hold, GGR picked up in the last week,” analysts Vitaly Umansky, Eunice Lee and Kelsey Zhu in a Monday note.

“For July, we estimate Macau’s GGR growth to range from +2% to +4% year-on-year (+8% to +11% month-on-month),” analysts stated.