Macao doesn’t have enough hotel rooms to support its growth, according to Galaxy Entertainment Group chairman Francis Lui. To solve the issue, he wants to see faster, more targeted hotel development in Hengqin.
With visitor arrivals growing at a rapid clip (up 30 percent year-on-year in April) and hotel occupancy rates currently averaging about 88 percent, Lui told Hong Kong reporters on Monday that the matter was urgent.
“As Macao shifts towards a more mass-market and event-focused model, the question of hotel rooms must be addressed,” he said. Galaxy has estimated the city needs at least 15,000 more hotel rooms, especially in the mid-priced category.
[See more: Macao’s five-star hotel rates continue their downward trajectory]
Building mid-priced hotels in Hengqin, which is part of Guangdong Province, would benefit mainland Chinese visitors – the mainstay of Macao’s tourism industry – and allow them to easily embark on day trips to Macao for conventions, concerts and gambling, Lui noted.
Hengqin authorities are already allowing vacant buildings to be converted into hotels and various entry-exit policies allow for smoother, more frequent cross-boundary travel for mainlanders travelling to Macao from Hengqin. However, Lui would like to see more initiatives in this area.
Macao currently has about 45,000 hotel rooms and welcomed almost 35 million visitors last year, while Las Vegas has about 160,000 hotel rooms for 40 million annual visitors. At the same time, overnight visitors made up less than half of Macao’s total tourist tally in 2024.
