Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that, attributable to a substantial rise of 821.3% in the number of visitor arrivals, total spending of visitors (excluding gaming expenses) surged by 576.7% year-on-year to MOP19.60 billion in the third quarter of 2023; moreover, the figure represented an increase of 28.9% compared to the same quarter of 2019. Total spending of overnight visitors (MOP16.86 billion) and same-day visitors (MOP2.74 billion) soared by 540.4% and 938.5% year-on-year respectively. In the first three quarters of 2023, total spending of visitors amounted to MOP52.06 billion, an uplift of 290.3% year-on-year and a growth of 8.8% compared to the corresponding period in 2019.
Per-capita spending of visitors was MOP2,366 in the third quarter of 2023, down by 26.6% year-on-year but up by 54.4% compared to the same quarter of 2019. Per-capita spending of overnight visitors (MOP4,044) decreased by 29.3% year-on-year, whereas that of same-day visitors (MOP665) increased by 10.7%. In the first three quarters of 2023, per-capita spending of visitors was MOP2,612, representing a fall of 14.5% year-on-year but a rise of 64.9% as against the same period in 2019. Analysed by source of visitors, per-capita spending of visitors from mainland China went down by 14.8% year-on-year to MOP2,711; spending of those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (MOP2,812) fell by 54.2%. Visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan spent an average of MOP1,263 and MOP2,266 respectively.
As regards type of expense, visitors spent primarily on shopping (44.3% of total) in the third quarter, followed by accommodation (29.3%) and food & beverages (20.1%). Per-capita shopping spending of visitors dropped by 49.7% year-on-year to MOP1,048, which was mainly spent on food products (MOP258), cosmetics & perfume (MOP234) and jewellery & watches (MOP197).
Analysed by main purpose of visit, per-capita spending of visitors coming to Macao for MICE events (MOP5,072), business & professional purposes (MOP2,840) and visiting families or friends (MOP1,510) grew by 31.4%, 66.7% and 33.9% year-on-year respectively, whereas per-capita spending of those coming for vacation (MOP2,848) and transit (MOP318) declined by 51.2% and 86.1% respectively.
With respect to visitors’ comments, the proportions of visitors who expressed satisfaction with the services of gaming establishments (82.2%) and travel agencies (80.9%) increased by 1.1 and 10.9 percentage points quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the rates of visitor satisfaction with the rest of the services and facilities decreased by varying degrees. The proportions of visitors who complimented on public facilities (86.0%) and public transport (72.4%) dropped by 2.5 and 5.5 percentage points quarter-on-quarter respectively, and the share of visitors who considered that there were adequate tourist attractions in Macao (68.5%) fell by 6.2 percentage points.
DSEC conducts the ongoing Visitor Expenditure Survey at major departure points to collect data from visitors on their expense items and amount of spending, as well as comments on services and facilities, during their stay in Macao. Extrapolated data on visitors’ spending, together with aggregate data on visitors’ comments from the samples, are published on a quarterly basis.