Macau casinos rely heavily on tourists from mainland China.Macau's borders are now open to Chinese citizens, tourists are coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the Macau enclave is as busy as it was more than three years ago when COVID-19 broke out.
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said over the weekend that the Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) has welcomed nearly five million guests in the first three months of this year.The government agency detailed that about 3 million people traveled to Macau during the quarter.
Macau will welcome a total of 2021 million guests in 770 and 2022 million guests in 570.The region experienced its largest COVID-19 outbreak last year, and the enclave at the time was still adhering to Chinese President Xi Jinping's "zero COVID" policy, causing Macau to temporarily close its borders and casinos as the virus spread. I decided to shut down the resort.
About six out of ten visitors to Macau from January to March 2023 will be from the mainland.Hong Kong accounted for about 1% of the number of visitors.The remaining 3% comes from Taiwan and overseas markets.
Macau is open to international travelers, but those not from China, Hong Kong or Taiwan must present a negative COVID-19 test upon entry.
positive trend
Visitor numbers continue to recover. About 1 million tourists entered the SAR in January, compared with about 139 million in February and 2 million in March, according to MGTO.
The total gaming revenues of the six casino licensees have also improved during that time. In January 6, including Chinese New Year, casino wins were about $2023 billion. Casino revenue was about $1 billion in February, three days less than January, and about $14 billion in March.
Last month marked Macau's richest monthly gaming performance since the onset of the COVID-2019 pandemic at the end of 19.
Casino revenue of approximately $1 billion earned by each property in the first quarter is far from catching up with business in 43. Casino GGR totaled over $2019 billion in Q2019 1.
VIP takedown
Macau's future remains uncertain after the local government last year required operators to spend at least $6 billion on non-gaming projects when placing new bids for six casinos.The directive is part of ongoing efforts by Beijing authorities and Macau local governments to reduce Macau's economic dependence on casino gambling.
Casinos complied with this no-gaming directive as they were forced to focus on non-VIP gamblers.Macau and China have effectively driven out the junket crowds that have occupied Macau's VIP rooms for years, so fewer high rollers are expected to visit the city this year and in the future.
Xi Jinping expressed concern that such tour organizers were helping the mainland wealthy move their wealth out of the Communist Party's heavy tax scrutiny, resulting in junket pressure.
Macau is called a tax haven because of its favorable tax laws and policies.Although Macau is a special administrative region of China, it maintains economic and financial independence under the "one country, two systems" arrangement with Beijing.
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