The Macau government predicts that the number of tourists will reach 33 million in 2024, about 84% of the number of tourists in 2019
The Macau government expects tourism in the Chinese enclave to continue to recover this year, with casinos boosting the local economy.
The Macau SAR Government Tourism Office (MGTO) released its 2024 Visitor Expectations this week. The Tourism Bureau predicts that the number of tourists traveling to China's special administrative regions will reach approximately 33 million.
This month, the average number of tourists entering Macau every day is about 70,000 to 80,000, and it exceeds 100,000 on weekends. Due to the stable starting point, the MGTO expects that the number of tourists will reach approximately 33 million by the end of 2024. "
If Macau reaches 33 million visitors this year, it would equal nearly 84% of the region's pre-pandemic traffic in 2019. Macau welcomed 28.2 million tourists last year, almost five times the number of visitors to the city in 2022. China remains under COVID-19 restrictions.
Macau Return
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Macau was the richest casino market on earth, but it wasn't even close. Nevada casinos won $12 billion in 2019. That same year, Macau's six gaming operators won more than three times that amount.
Macau casinos recorded more than $36.5 billion in gross gaming revenue this year. That’s down 3.4% from 2018.
However, amid the global health crisis, things have changed in Macau. Feeling that its national security is threatened by the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, Beijing has told Macau's leaders that a massive outflow of capital from the mainland to the tax haven Macau poses a risk to national security.
President Xi Jinping's instructions essentially led to the prosecution of Macau VIP junket billionaire Chow Cheuk-hwa, who runs Suncity Group. Junkets soon closed their doors and fled to other gambling markets in Asia, fearing they too would be prosecuted for gambling crimes.
Zhou maintained his innocence but was sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud, illegal gambling and organized crime. With junkets no longer escorting wealthy mainlanders into Macau's private high-rolling rooms, casinos are beginning to diversify. The shift comes in partnership with the Macau government, which granted ten-year license extensions to six operators in late 2022 in exchange for nearly $18 billion in non-gaming project commitments.
It appears to be a page out of the Las Vegas playbook as casinos focus on a host of new amenities to attract mainland residents, especially families and business travelers. For these investments to pay off, Macau must attract the mainland Chinese public as an ideal location for both leisure and business travelers.
International Market Focus
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes stressed that Macau’s international visitor flow is still below pre-epidemic levels and far below that of mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
This year, the tourism bureau will focus on overseas markets and hold roadshows in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Malaysia in the first half of the year. ” Senna Fernandes explained. “We also plan to participate in European travel trade fairs. "
In 2023, Macau casinos won $22.7 billion, an increase of 334% from the previous year and an increase of 111% from 2021.
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Source: www.casino.org
