The head of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) said on Monday that the hospitality industry is entering an “adjustment period” during which it should be easier to reserve guestrooms and hotel operators could be expected to carry out more promotions to attract guests from various regions and countries.
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes made the remarks on the sidelines of the Boao Asia Development Forum at Sands Cotai Central.
The city’s tourism chief was a keynote speaker at the one-day forum which focused on youth, culture and tourism.
The Lands, Transport and Public Works Bureau (DSSOPT) announced in a statement on Sunday that about 25,500 guestrooms in 43 hotels are set to be available in the next few years.
Asked by reporters as to whether there will be an oversupply of hotel rooms as more hotels are under construction or in the pipeline while casino revenues are dropping and the average hotel occupancy rate is down, Senna Fernandes said that although there was a “big drop” in the number of visitors in March and the occupancy rate was down, the government still needed more time to observe the market.
“Over the last few years I have often heard visitors from Hong Kong or elsewhere saying that local hotel rooms are expensive…and it was hard to book one. I think now [the local hotel sector] is entering a period of adjustment,” she said, adding, “During the adjustment period it will be easier for visitors to reserve hotel rooms…and meanwhile hotel operators will come up with more promotions to attract guests from various places especially guests from further afield.”
According to official statistics, hotels’ average occupancy rate dropped 10.9 percentage points year-on-year to 77.3 percent in March, when the number of hotel guests fell 16.1 percent year-on-year to 797,000. Macau had 28,000 guestrooms at the end of March.
The number of visitor arrivals fell 13.5 percent year-on-year to 2.27 million in March. (macaunews/macaupost)
