The number of guests in hotels and guesthouses in Macau reached 14.11 million for 2018, 7.2% higher than the previous year.
The data from the Special Administrative Region’s (SAR’s) Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) also showed visitors on package tours increased 5.5% year on year, to 9.10 million.
Mainland China contributed the most to the number of guests, with 9.72 million, a 12.5% increase year on year, followed by those from Hong Kong, with 1.52 million, 5.9% less than in 2017.
Among visitors on package tours, Mainland China was also the largest group, with 7.10 million, a 2.6% increase year on year. However, the number of those from the Republic of Korea and Taiwan rose at a larger rate, at 28.3% and 53.8% respectively.
For December alone, the number of guests rose 4.8% year on year to 1.26 million, led by those from Mainland China, with 863,000, up 8.2% year on year. Visitors on tour packages rose 1.6% year on year for the month, at 917,000, although Mainland China visitors decreased 1.2% from the previous December, at 733,000.
The average occupancy rate of hotels and guesthouses went up 3.9% from 2017, to 91.1%. Of these, five-star hotels saw the largest year-on-year increase, of 4.6% to 92.4% occupancy. On average, guests staged for 1.5 nights, same as the previous year.
The DSEC reported 116 hotels and guesthouses operating at the end of the year, five more than in end-2017, with the number of guest rooms growing 5.8% to 39,000, of which 25,000 or 63.1% were five-star hotels, the number of which rose 9.6% year on year.
The increase in guests complements data earlier released by the DSEC showing a record total of 35.8 million visitors to Macau in 2018, up 9.8% from the previous year.
Even as the figures showed continued demand from visitors, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) reported a reduction in the number of licensed junkets in Macau, from 109 in January 2018 to 100 as of this month.
The SAR saw 2018 gross gaming revenue (GGR) increasing 14% year on year, at $37.57 billion. However, growth is expected to go down to the single digits for this year.
