Lifestyle Travel

Macau to hit 40 million visitors by 2020

Written by Ben Blaschke

Macau’s annual visitation numbers are expected to grow by around 30 percent to 40 million visitors per year by 2020, according to a report by brokerage Sanford C Bernstein.

Citing the increasing availability and decreasing costs of hotel rooms in Macau and nearby Hengqin, analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Yang Xie predict Macau will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of around 7 percent annually in what promises to be the driving force behind the city’s long-term future.

Continued supply expansion (both casinos and non-gaming hotel properties) in Macau, and later in Hengqin, will help sustain overnight visitation growth trends,” the report says. “Due to growth from overnight visitation and from stabilization and slow rebound in day-tripper growth (as Hengqin continues to develop), we estimate that visitation growth through 2020 can grow at 7 percent CAGR to approximately 40 million visitors (from 31 million in 2016).”

The report also noted the benefits of attracting mass market tourists, who not only stay longer than day-trippers but tend to spend more in the process.

“Increasing average spend is achievable as longer stays improve total spend per visit (for both gaming and non-gaming),” it says. “Overnight visitors spending one night in Macau spend over 1.7x more on gaming and non-gaming (excluding transport) than day-trippers, while those staying two nights spend 3.3x more.”