Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors was MOP18.19 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, up by 23.0% year-on-year and 14.2% quarter-to-quarter. Total spending of overnight visitors (MOP14.78 billion) and same-day visitors (MOP3.41 billion) rose by 22.9% and 23.1% respectively year-on-year. For the whole year of 2017, total spending of visitors reached MOP61.32 billion, an increase of 16.4% from MOP52.66 billion in 2016; total spending of overnight visitors (MOP49.75 billion) and same-day visitors (MOP11.57 billion) went up by 18.2% and 9.5% respectively.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, per-capita spending of visitors was MOP2,072, up by 13.2% year-on-year and 7.6% quarter-to-quarter. Visitors from Mainland China recorded higher per-capita spending of MOP2,417, up by 12.1% year-on-year, with spending of those from Guangdong Province (MOP2,083) and Fujian Province (MOP1,725) rising by 13.3% and 8.1% respectively. Mainland visitors travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) spent an average of MOP2,817, up by 15.9%. Per-capita spending of visitors from Japan (MOP1,929), Singapore (MOP1,895) and Malaysia (MOP1,809) grew by 15.7%, 3.2% and 4.7% respectively year-on-year. Meanwhile, spending of visitors from Australia (MOP1,590) increased by 8.4% whereas spending of those from the United States (MOP1,241) and the United Kingdom (MOP1,207) dropped by 9.5% and 1.8% respectively.
Per-capita spending of overnight visitors grew by 14.4% year-on-year to MOP3,200. Overnight visitors from Mainland China spent an average of MOP3,608 (+10.6%), and among them, IVS visitors spent MOP4,220 (+15.6%); meanwhile, per-capita spending of overnight visitors from Taiwan (MOP3,076) edged down by 0.8%. Per-capita spending of same-day visitors rose by 12.1% year-on-year to MOP820; same-day Mainland visitors spent an average of MOP1,034 (+14.2%), with IVS visitors spending MOP1,645 (+17.4%).
With regard to type of spending, visitors spent mainly on shopping (47.7% of total), accommodation (24.4%) and food & beverage (20.2%) in the fourth quarter of 2017. Per-capita shopping spending of visitors rose by 22.0% year-on-year to MOP990, of which spending on cosmetics & perfume (MOP287) and local food products (MOP279) surged by 54.2% and 20.3% respectively. Analysed by main purpose of visit, per-capita spending of visitors coming to Macao for MICE events (MOP3,531) and for vacation (MOP2,884) increased by 24.9% and 27.3% respectively year-on-year.
For the whole year of 2017, per-capita spending of visitors was MOP1,880, up by 10.5% from MOP1,701 in 2016; per-capita spending of overnight visitors (MOP2,883) and same-day visitors (MOP754) grew by 7.6% and 8.7% respectively. Analysed by country/place, visitors from Mainland China spent an average of MOP2,203 (+11.6%), with IVS visitors spending MOP2,486 (+10.0%). Per-capita spending of visitors from Singapore (MOP1,848), Malaysia (MOP1,762) andJapan(MOP1,744)increased, whereas spending of those from Australia (MOP1,429), the United States (MOP1,236) and the United Kingdom (MOP1,195) recorded decline.
In 2017, per-capita shopping spending of visitors rose by 14.9% year-on-year to MOP855, which was mainly spent on local food products (MOP252) and cosmetics & perfume (MOP230). Meanwhile, per-capita spending on accommodation and food & beverage was MOP485 and MOP392 respectively. Analysed by main purpose of visit, per-capita spending of visitors coming to Macao for MICE events increased by 28.0% year-on-year to MOP3,456, and spending of those coming for shopping (MOP2,571) and vacation (MOP2,508) went up by 6.5% and 11.3% respectively.
With respect to visitors’ comments, the proportions of visitors who complimented the services of retail shops, environmental hygiene as well as services and facilities of hotels in the fourth quarter of 2017 increased by 2.5 percentage points, 2.4 percentage points and 0.9 percentage point respectively quarter-to-quarter, while the share of those who commented that there were adequate points of tourist attractions in Macao went down by 3.9 percentage points. For the whole year of 2017, visitors’ satisfaction towards most of the services and facilities showed decline. The proportion of visitors who were satisfied with the services and facilities of hotels (85.9%) dropped by 4.2 percentage points year-on-year, and the shares of those who expressed satisfaction with the services of travel agencies (70.7%) and gaming facilities (73.9%) recorded double-digit decreases of 14.6 percentage points and 10.3 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, the proportion of visitors who commented that the points of tourist attractions were adequate (53.0%) went up by 8.2 percentage points.