Macau has returned to her Motherland for ten years, and the tourism industry, being the pillar of the local economy, is developing at a satisfactory pace. “The Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta” has positioned Macau as an international tourism and leisure destination, which will attract more different kinds of visitors in the future. In ten years, the number of visitor arrivals to Macau has grown from 7.44 million in 1999 to over 21 million in 2009. The number of overnight guests in hotels also grew from over 2.2 million in 1999 to over 6.7 million in 2009. Visitor arrivals in the first two quarters of this year exceeded 12 million, a surge of nearly 18% compared to same period of last year. For the first six months of this year, the number of overnight guests in hotels exceeded 3.8 million, a 22.4% growth over the same period of last year. Travelers are attentive to the quantity, quality and room rate of hotels, and Macau boasts hotels and guesthouses of various star ratings to meet the demand of different visitors. The current legislation regulates the ratings of different accommodation premises and investors can choose to establish different types and ratings of accommodation premises in Macau accordingly. The thresholds for establishing 2-star hotels, 2-star and 3-star guesthouses as stated in the legislation are not high, provided that the buildings and locations at which the premises are situated comply with the applied use. 2-star hotels as well as 2-star and 3-star guesthouses are considered as accommodation for budget travelers in Macau. There are currently 43 such premises, offering a total of 1,377 rooms. According to the information provided by the travel trade, during the peak season of the Chinese New Year Golden Week this year, the average room rate for 2-star hotels was 636 patacas, while the average room rate for guesthouses was 347 patacas. From January to June this year, the average occupancy rate of 2-star hotels was 76.54%, while that of the guesthouses was 54.82%. Currently, among the applications submitted to the licensing entity, there are two 2-star hotels offering 208 room and three 2-star and 3-star guesthouses offering a total of 119 rooms. According to other information, among the accommodation premises planned in the next three to five years, there are eight premises belonging to the above-mentioned categories, offering a total of about 300 rooms. However, the investors have not yet submitted the related applications to the tourist office. The rating of accommodation premises in Macau is in accordance with the legislation 16/96/M of April 1, 1996. Accommodation premises are divided into four categories, of which each is subdivided into different ratings (hotels are divided into 5-star deluxe, 5-star, 4-star, 3-star and 2-star, while guesthouses are divided into 3-star and 2-star). The tourist office approves applications of accommodation premises and confers the respective ratings in accordance with the above-mentioned legislation as well as the “Rules on Hotelier and Similar Industries” (technical criteria to regulate the ratings of establishments) approved by the legislation 83/96/M of April 1, 1996. To be in line with the development of the society and in response to the demand of the tourism industry, the above-mentioned legislation is under review. Till the end of July, there are 62 2-star to 5-star deluxe hotels, 31 2-star to 3-star guesthouses in Macau, offering a total of 20,963 rooms.
