EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI

Visitor expenses drop 70pct y-on-y in Q1

Total spending – excluding gaming expenses – of visitors declined by 70 per cent year-on-year to an about MOP5 billion (US$626.3 million) in the first quarter of 2020, data released today by the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) revealed.

Overall, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a 69 per cent year-on-year decrease in the number of visitor arrivals to about 3.2 million in the first three months of this year, with per-capita spending by visitors dropping by 4.8 per cent year-on-year to MOP1,555.

Meanwhile, total spending by overnight visitors (MOP3.7 billion) and same-day visitors (MOP1.2 billion) going down by 70.8 per cent and 69.3 per cent, respectively.

The largest percentage of spending by visitors, about 43.3 per cent, was made bu visitors on shopping, followed by accommodation (27.4 per cent) and food & beverage (23 per cent).

Gross gaming revenues have gone down by 68.7 per cent year-on-year in the first four months of this year to about MOP 31.2 billion.