Last Friday marked the end of the “Golden Week” in China, one of three annual holiday periods when many Chinese take the opportunity to travel. After pandemic restrictions, many are now targeting Macau, a so-called special administrative region west of Hong Kong known for its casino business.
With 932,000 visitors during the week, it is equal to 84 percent of the number of visitors in 2019, i.e. before the outbreak of the pandemic. Casino operators have also invested heavily in attracting visitors with everything from concerts, fireworks and even a pool party with former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. Analysts now assess, according to a compilation made by the news agency Bloomberg, that gaming revenue for the month of October should amount to 72 percent of the level before the pandemic, in which case the highest figure so far since the outbreak.
The major banks J P Morgan and Citigroup also have forecasts that by the middle of next year they should be back at the same level as in 2019. However, there are certain clouds of worry over Macao. While gaming has picked up, it is slower for trade, for example. Several actors in the retail trade such as, for example, jewelry, clothing and electronics, state that during the “Golden Week” the tourists held tight to their wallets and did not consume at all to the extent that had been hoped for.