Macau new year visitors rise, but unclear if they came to gamble

Macau enjoyed a surge in visitation over the lunar new year festivities but it’s not clear how many of those visitors spent time or money at gambling tables.

The Macau Government Tourist Office says the special administrative region recorded 1.076m visitor arrivals from Feb. 7-14, a 4.7% gain over the initial period of the 2015 new year celebrations. Visitation from the Chinese mainland was up 4.3% to over 793k during this period. But they appear to have gotten lost on their way to the baccarat tables.

A research note issued by Wells Fargo Securities suggested that “mass tables remain quiet” despite the increased arrivals. The note went on to say that the arrivals boost was notable for the number of middle-class families displaying a “higher propensity to enjoy non-gaming amenities and lower propensity to gamble.”

Given this apparent aversion to gambling, Wells Fargo believes there’s little reason to bank on hopes that February will break Macau’s 20-month streak of falling gaming revenue. The note predicted February’s gaming revenue total would decline 14% year-on-year when the final numbers are revealed.