Golden Week is always one of the busiest times of the year for Macau casinos, as a surge of visitors from mainland China arrive on the island to celebrate the founding of the People’s Republic. The eight-day festival that finished on Wednesday attracted about 1,144,401 visitors.
The Public Security Police figures show a new single-day record was set on Saturday after 191,132 people arrived, which is an 18% increase year-on-year.
a typhoon on Saturday meant that the overall average visitor numbers were below initial expectations
The onset of a typhoon on Saturday meant that the overall average visitor numbers were below initial expectations, as border crossings were briefly suspended. An average of 143,000 people arrived on the island during the holiday period, versus the 150,000 daily average that the Macau Government Tourism Office forecasted.
Asian investment group CLSA Ltd had analysts in the Special Administrative Region of China during the holidays. They noticed steady baccarat betting activity and many more family travelers than in previous editions of Golden Week.
CLSA estimates that gross gaming revenue for the month will be around US$2.8bn, which would be a 9% year-on-year increase.
