Tourism boosts Macau’s GDP growth

The Chinese region’s GDP grew by 9.2 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2018 thanks to gambling tourists.

Macau.- Gambling continues to boost the Macanese economy as the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 9.2 per cent thanks to gambling tourists. The figure was fuelled by visitors’ spending and in “exports of gaming services” (which are local gaming services as most users are foreigners), the city’s Statistics and Census Service revealed.

Exports of gaming services are the major driving force for Macau’s economic growth and actually rose by 16.5 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter. Said increase was driven by an increase in the number of tourists arriving in the Chinese region and their spending.

GDP had already grown by 9.1 per cent year-on-year in real terms for full-year 2017 and is expected to continue rising by the end of this year and the next one, carried by exports of gaming services. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Macau’s GDP will grow by seven per cent this year and 6.1 per cent in 2019.