The number of visitors arriving in Macau last month fell year on year for the first time in five and a half years.
The numbers for the whole year were up 11.8% though on 2007, weighing in at 30.18 million.
Total arrivals for December fell back 2.78% from a year ago to 2.54 million, the first decrease in 66 consecutive months. The reason for the poor performance back in the second quarter of 2003 was an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. This time it’s being blamed on recession and visa restrictions imposed by China.
Arrivals from the Mainland fell 4.03% to 1.38 million, while entrants under the Individual Visit Scheme were down 30.4% to 477,859.