The gaming mecca enjoyed strong visitation during the 75th National Holiday celebration, exceeding pre-pandemic figures. CE candidate Sam Hou Fai said the city could attract even more traffic with superstar entertainment, especially casino residencies.
The Macau Government Tourism Office (MTGO) tallied almost 915,700 visitors in the first six days of the seven-day Golden Week holiday. The average daily head count exceeded 152,600, outpacing the target of 130,000 per day.
Golden Week commemorates the 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China. It’s one of China’s busiest travel seasons. And revellers came out this year despite prolonged economic uncertainty and rock-bottom consumer confidence.
From 2 October to 5 October, arrivals from mainland China – Macau’s main feeder market – were up almost 55% year-on-year. Tourism peaked on 3 October, breaking the all-time single-day record with more than 174,000 visitors.
However, visitation from Hong Kong dropped more than 25%, to fewer than 80,000 tourists.
CE candidate pumps big-name residencies
At a town hall meeting Saturday, the sole candidate for Macau chief executive said SAR casinos should step up their entertainment calendarto boost patronage.
“In various sectors, we are lagging behind,” said former appeals court judge Sam Hou Fai. He suggested Macau play to its strength as an emerging centre of tourism and leisure. City leaders set that goal in 2011. It was followed in 2018 by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) Development Plan.
“Our competitiveness in several aspects is not as good as others,” said Sam. “We are falling behind Shenzhen’s technology, Guangzhou’s comprehensive capabilities and Hong Kong’s financial centre.”
“Our unique advantages have not yet been fully utilised. In the future, we have to make up for our shortcomings in these aspects in a targeted manner,” he said.
Sam said casino operators should promote superstar residencies like those in Las Vegas.
“A famous UK singer, who once performed in a residency show in Las Vegas, was offered around $200m (£152.76m/€182.1m)” for a similar contract in Macau, he said. “While she turned down the offer to take care of her family and children, could we not continue to promote something like this to make it a long-term operation?”
Some publications have identified British songbird Adele as the singer in question.
The election for chief executive will take place 13 October. Current Macau chief executive Ho Iat Seng announced in August that he would not seek reelection due to health reasons.
