Shine comes off visitor satisfaction

In the fourth quarter of last year, tourists’ satisfaction sunk to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2011, according to Macau Tourist Satisfaction Index (MTSI) published last week by the Tourism Research Centre of the Institute for Tourism Studies (ITRC).
The overall tourism satisfaction in the fourth quarter of 2015 stood at 67.8 points on a scale ranging from 0 to 100 points. This is the second worst score since MTSI started publishing such results in the third quarter of 2009. The worst score was 66.1 points in the first quarter of 2011.
‘The service performance of most sectors declined in Q4 compared to the last quarter. A slight drop in satisfaction was recorded for restaurants, retail shops and tour guides/operators but other sectors – namely casinos, events, non-heritage attractions, immigration and hotels – performed considerably [more] poorly’, the study reads.
The study analyses ten different sectors related to tourism such as events, transportation, retail and immigration controls.
Poor service
In comparison with the last quarter of 2014, all sectors but transportation and tour guides and operators were ranked with a lower score during the fourth quarter of 2015.
Visitors to Macau in 2015 gave transportation 68.9 points, while one year ago it was 68.5 points. Likewise, tour guides and operators were assessed last year at 66.9 points, which was an increase from 66.6 points.
Of all the sectors, the one tourists preferred most was events which scored 75.8 points. However, this score represented a decline of 3.6 points year-on-year from 79.4 points. At the same time, casinos were the third preferred sector, scoring 67.3 points, which was a decrease of 2.7 points year-on-year from 70.3 points.
By contrast, immigration, retail shops and non-heritage attractions were the most disappointing sector for visitors. In the fourth quarter of 2015, the immigration services scored 65.4 points, down from 65.9 points a year ago, relegating it to the worst satisfactory level of a service in Macau.
As for retail shops, tourist satisfaction dropped to 66.4 points from 69.0 points, a decrease of 2.6 points year-on-year. Non-heritage attractions scored 66.5 points, down from 69.9 points.
Hotels and casinos less satisfying
The MSTI also analyses the annual score for all sectors. With regard to this classification there are points that may cause concern for the gaming and hotel operators.
Casinos’ overall score for the whole of 2015 stood at 69.1 points, which is a decline year-on-year from 70.2 per cent. While the score is clearly positive, visitor satisfaction with gaming venues has been declining since 2013, when the score was 71.5 points. Satisfaction with hotels decreased to 69.6 points from 71.1 points.
The Macau Tourist Satisfaction Index produced by IFT is based on the answers of 1,119 tourists, with most from Mainland China (60.7 per cent), followed by Hong Kong (24.2 per cent) and Taiwan (7.5 per cent).