Mainland tourists to Macau plummet during Lunar New Year amid deadly outbreak of Wuhan virus
- Mainland tourist numbers were 75.1 per cent lower over the first four days of the Lunar New Year holiday, according to data from the Macau Government Tourism Office
- Macau’s gaming sector is likely to remain under pressure until the virus outbreak is brought under control, according to Jefferies
What started out as a promising year for Macau’s tourism industry has turned out to be a major setback for the special administrative region, as visitors are put off by the rapidly spreading coronavirus epidemic that originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The losses have already affected Macau’s events calendar as well as gaming stocks of its concessionaires.
Mainland Chinese visitors, who make the bulk of tourists, were down a startling 88.5 per cent on Monday, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year holiday period compared to a year earlier, rapidly deteriorating from 38 per cent, 64.7 per cent and 79.6 per cent over the first three days. Overall mainland tourist numbers were 75.1 per cent lower over the first four days, according to data from the Macau Government Tourism Office.
Total visitor numbers to Macau over the four days of the Lunar New Year sank 69 per cent year on year to 194,521. Macau’s tourism numbers are closely associated with mass gaming revenue.
Investment bank Jefferies said in a research note that the lower numbers would be “negative” for gaming stocks as casinos’ revenue is closely tied to visitor levels.
Over the last three years, the 17 days surrounding the seven-day holiday in mainland China during the Lunar New Year period contributed around 5 to 5.5 per cent of annual gross gaming revenue in Macau, according to a research note issued by Sanford Bernstein on Friday.
