Both overall occupancy and visitor spending levels are on the rise in the early stages of 2017 according to latest figures.
Hotel room occupancy increased year-on-year from 81.1% to 88.7% in April according to the Macau Hotel Association, with the occupancy rate of five-star hotel rooms up almost 10% from 77.7% to 87.3% while the occupancy rate of four-star hotels grew from 84.7% to 90.3%.
The average hotel room rate fell slightly to MOP$1,241, a 3.6% decline.
Nevertheless, visitors continue to spend more than previously with the total spending of visitors to Macau reaching MOP$13.46 billion for the first three months of 2017 – a substantial 16.6% rise year-on-year although down 9% sequentially.
Overnight visitors raised their spend most significantly, up 19.6% year-on-year to MOP$10.6 billion. In the first quarter of 2017, per-capita spending of visitors was MOP$1,709, up by 10.5% year-on-year but down by 6.6% quarter-on-quarter.
The results continue a strong start to 2017 for Macau’s entertainment and leisure industry, with gross gaming revenue having risen 13.8% for the first four months of the year and another strong month tipped for May.
In a Monday release, Bernstein analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Yang Xie predicted GGR for May to come in at 14% to 16%, “slightly higher than our expectation of 12% to 14%.”
The current average daily rate sits at MOP$700 million, representing a 15% year-on-year rise and 4% higher than April.
“Revenue has increased post Zhang’s visit,” Bernstein said. “With dragon boat festival holidays coming, GGR may continue to show strength into the month end.”
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