The average occupancy rate in Macao of guest rooms fell almost a full percentage point from 79.8 percent in April to 78.9 percent in May, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service.
Three-star hotels were unable to hold onto earlier gains and saw average occupancy decline by more than 5 percent from 86.1 percent in April to 81 percent last month. The average occupancy rate of five-star hotels was below 80 percent.
The total number of guests at hotel establishments grew by just 3,000, from 1,101,000 in April to 1,104,000 in May.
[See more: Average hotel occupancy rates rose in April, but the average length of stay remained static]
Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan – Macao’s core markets – accounted for 1,009,000 guests, or 91.3 percent of the total, during the month. This compared to 1,011,000, or 91.8 percent of the total, in April, suggesting that there was only a negligible increase in the number of foreign or long-haul visitors to the territory.
The number of visitors arriving on package tours fell sharply to 79,000 in May from 97,000 in April.
Meanwhile, the average length of stay remained level month-to-month, at just 1.6 nights. Year to date, the average hotel occupancy remained fairly constant, at 76.7 percent for the first five months of 2023, compared to 76.2 percent for the first four months.
