Macau retailers are hoping for a reversal of fortunes over the coming long weekend after months of declining sales.
But they may be in for a shock with hospitality industry sources barely 30 per cent of available hotel rooms have been booked for the Labour Weekend holiday starting Friday.
Embattled retailers have been looking for ways to attract customers after the downturn in gamblers visiting Macau from the mainland, spurred by the central government’s clampdown on graft, with the luxury end of the spectrum hit hardest.
Seng Fung Jewellery GM Lee Koi Ian told the Macau Business Daily that his company’s sales are down 30 per cent so far this month. He has planned a lucky draw promotion to get customers back in store.
While the big spenders of the past are missing from Macau, more middle-class visitors and families are now heading to the territory. His store is selling more products to people for their own use rather than the extravagant gifts of previous years.
Chan Chi Kit, president of the Macau Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association, says with only 30 per cent of available hotel rooms prebooked this weekend, the industry is expecting a decline in visitor numbers as high as 30 to 40 per cent.
Macau hotel room rates slumped 50 per cent in March this year according to data from the government tourism office – from an average of about MOP1200 (US$150) last year to just MOP600 ($75) now, said Chan.
On a brighter note, visitors appear to be staying longer than before. The Statistics and Census Service says the number of overnight visitors increased by 14.1 per cent year-on-year to 1.173 million while the number of same-day visitors fell 3.9 per cent to 1.194 million.
Visitors stayed for an average of 1.2 days in March, up 0.3 days year-on-year.
Mainland China continues to drive the most visitors to Macau – 1.483 million in March, up 1.8 per cent year-on-year. Hong Kong visitors totalled 563,408 and Taiwanese visitors totalled 78,458 – up 10.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively. Visitors from South Korea decreased to 41,675 and from Japan to 27,814, down by 4.4 per cent and 2.3 per cent, respectively. Visitors from the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK all rose, but from a very low base.