More than 30 percent of businesses in residential areas said they didn’t benefit from the surge in visitors over the Chinese New Year holiday, according to legislator Chan Chak Mo, who is also the head of the United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macao.
Speaking to local media outlets on the sidelines of the Legislative Assembly’s annual banquet yesterday, Chan said that he conducted a survey of 150 local businesses during the Lunar New Year break.
Over a third of businesses located in the residential districts said that their sales volumes were poor, while just 10 percent saw an improvement over last year. Businesses in the tourist areas saw better results, with more than 30 percent reporting better sales compared to last year and only 1 in 10 saying sales were worse.
[See more: Local businesses suffer as more residents choose to shop and eat on the mainland]
Driving pedestrian traffic to Macao’s non-tourist areas has long preoccupied policymakers and business owners, who are anxious to encourage a more even distribution of consumer spending.
Chan meanwhile added that restaurants, retailers and other businesses were also losing business as Macao residents chose to shop and dine on the Chinese mainland, where prices are lower and choices far greater.
He admitted that there are no short-term solutions to the problem due to “the price difference in the living standard of people in mainland China.”
