A report on Macau’s economic diversification shows 2017’s non-gambling source revenue falling slightly from 2016 and 2015 to just 6.8%.
While Macau continues to push for diversification, creating a more rounded destination designed for leisure and business travellers as well as gamblers, the numbers are belying their efforts.
The goal? For casino operators to attract at least 9% of their revenue from non-gambling sources by 2020.
A report on Macau’s economic diversification shows 2017’s non-gambling source revenue falling slightly from 2016 and 2015 to just 6.8%.
Overall revenue from the city’s six gaming concessionaires brought US$35.33 billion (MOP284.77 billion), with US$32.93 billion (MOP265.44 billion), 93.2%, from gaming activities. Similar figures in 2015 improved to 92.6% during 2016.
Sands China is the city’s poster-child having brought in 16% of revenue from non-gaming sources, while other brands such as Wynn Macau and MGM China lagged behind with 6.7 and 2% respectively.
Gaming and junket activities covered 49.1% of the city’s almost US$49.63 billion (MOP400 billion) economy. In fact, the gaming sector grew faster than the general economy, gross value expanding by 17.5% year-on-year, significantly more than the average of 11.6%.
Activities centred around culture and creative arts, Chinese medicine and the MICE sector are the strongest auxiliary industries. In 2017 real estate accounted for around 10%, wholesale and retail 5.6%, banking 5.4% and hotels just 4.3%.
Inbound tourists from Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) account for over 90% of 2017’s visitor arrivals, mainland China alone over 68%.
While 2017 saw 32,610,506 total arrivals, an increase year-on-year of 5.4%, January to November 2018 counts 32,233,838 already, a 9.1% increase year-on-year so far.
2018 arrivals through Macau International Airport (MIA) broke existing records with 8.26 million passenger movements, a leap of 15% from 2017, and over 65,000 aircraft arrivals and departures, up 12%. Ten new routes and six new airlines were added during the year.
Year’s end saw work starting on increasing capacity of the passenger terminal.