The return of tourists comes as a huge relief for Macao’s retail sector, which posted big sales increases in the first quarter of this year.
Business
After comparing first-quarter results from all six concessionaires, a top consultant hails MGM for pulling off particularly impressive jumps in gaming revenue and earnings.
Chairman Lui Che Woo says ‘solid pent-up customer demand following the relaxation of travel restrictions’ has paid off for the gaming operator.
The consumer price index barely moved between March and April, with lower rents helping to offset any increases in the price of consumer goods.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng told legislators in April that the Macao government would “proactively promote” the emergence of a local bond market.
Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan remain the biggest source of visitors, but overnight visitors are staying for shorter periods, the latest figures show.
Public works chief Raimundo do Rosário says the sell-off – Macao’s first in years – “won’t be within days” but “maybe in some weeks or even months.”
New figures show that gaming taxes accounted for more than 75 percent of the Macao government’s total revenue for the first four months of 2023.
Mainland Chinese are the biggest spenders, followed by tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong, with shopping topping the expenditure list.