Macau records 29% month-on-month drop in September visitor arrivals

Macau's monthly visitor numbers experienced a notable drop in September, a 28.6% decline compared to the previous month, despite a remarkable 310% year-on-year surge, as reported by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). In total, 2,301,056 visitors entered the gambling hub last month.

The month-on-month decline in visitor numbers can be attributed to severe weather conditions, including the impact of Super Typhoon Saola, which led to a nine-hour closure of Macau's casinos on September 1. Consequently, gross gaming revenues also saw a dip of 13.2% to MOP$14.94 billion (US$1.85 billion) in September.

DSEC data revealed that mainland Chinese tourists constituted the majority of visitors in September, with 1,589,423 arrivals, reflecting a significant increase of 220% compared to the same month last year, Macau Daily Times reported. Visitors from the Greater Bay Area (GBA) saw a 150% increase, totaling 749,926, with 214,970 arriving from Zhuhai and 162,966 from Guangzhou, accounting for 28.7% and 21.7% of the total arrivals, respectively.

Additionally, 534,755 visitors came from Hong Kong, marking a year-on-year increase of 1,006%, while 50,660 were from Taiwan, a 670% increase from 2022. Regarding foreign arrivals, the Philippines continued to be the leading contributor with 24,705 visitors, followed by South Korea with 22,283.

The September statistics included 1,169,471 overnight visitors and 1,131,585 same-day visitors, with an average length of stay of 1.4 days, indicating a slight year-on-year reduction of 0.4 days, the report said.

For the first nine months of 2023, the total number of visitor arrivals reached 19,928,168, marking a substantial year-on-year increase of 360%. This figure comprised 10,236,800 overnight visitors and 9,691,368 same-day visitors, with an average length of stay of 1.3 days, down from 1.4 days during the same period in 2022.