As reported by the Macau government in a statement released on Friday, the Asian gambling hub’s economy expanded for a second straight quarter after improvements in gaming services and tourism; as the Gross Domestic Product increased by 32.9% compared to 2020. This follows an almost 70% expansion in the previous three months.
Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that exports of services surged by 181% on a year-over-year comparison in Q3, driven by a rebound in the number of visitor arrivals, exports of gaming services and other tourism services soared by 302.6% and 303.3%, respectively. The number of visitor arrivals jumped almost 144% from a year ago, the data showed.
Exports of services increased by 102.5%, of which exports of gaming services climbed by 79.4%. Imports of services recorded a growth of 19.0%.
However, earlier this month casinos reported their worst month of the year. October saw a 40% in gaming revenue, and fell 26% from the previous month, leaving its number down an 83% against the same period in pre-pandemic 2019. This news came amid pandemic-related restrictions and the much-discussed gambling law review.
Operations had been affected by restrictions imposed by China after isolated Covid-19 cases were reported. From September 25 to October 15, Macau entered a “state of immediate prevention”, including a series of countermeasures.
A quarantine requirement for people entering the mainland from Macau was still in place during the seven-day national “Golden Week” holiday, which started on October 1. Visitor arrivals during the said week were 95% down year-on-year.
Nevertheless, the number of visitor arrivals to Macau has been increasing steadily since late October: the enclave recorded 28,299 arrivals on October 26, the highest daily tally since late September. Currently, mainland China is the only place to have a quarantine-free travel arrangement with Macau.
