Macau recovery still below expectations

The pace of Macau’s recovery remains slower than that seen in such as Australia, South Korea or US territories.

Macau.- Visitation and gross gaming revenue (GGR) continue to recover in Macau but at a slower pace than in other Asia Pacific jurisdictions, a report from JP Morgan says.  

GGR has reached MOP$115 million per day, up from MOP$80 million in the first week of September, and visitation has gone from 8,000 people a day in August to 15,000, according to the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO). 

JP Morgan analysts DS Kim, Derek Choi and Jeremy An said this is still below earlier expectations, which had aimed for daily GGR of MOP$200 million by this juncture.

They now expect GGR in September to reach 20 per cent of 2019 levels.

That’s despite Zuhai and Guangdong provinces restarting the individual visit scheme (IVS) travellers usually use to enter Macau.  

They said: “The pace seems slower than what we’ve seen in other re-opened jurisdictions such as Australia, Korea or US regionals, where local demand recovered to 70-100 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels in a matter of a months.” 

The analysts attribute the trend to the new regulations from China that have tightened control over VIPs’ funds, as well as Covid-19 testing requirements and slower visa processing.

They said: “We’d like to think that these are rather transitory and can be resolved gradually in the coming months, but we admit the visibility is low.”