The data provided by the Macau Special Administrative Region Government shows that from New Year's Eve (January 21) to the fourth day of the first month (January 25), Macau received more than 318,000 in the first five days of the Spring Festival holiday.Tourists have increased by more than 300%over last year.Among them, 71,678 passengers who entered the country on the second day of the New Year (January 23) were the highest number of days since the outbreak of the crown disease epidemic.
According to the statistics of the Macau Police Department, more than 180,000 tourists came from mainland China, an increase of 155%over the previous year; about 118,000 people came from nearby Hong Kong with a growth rate of 2700%.
According to foreign news reports, some hotel executives said that many hotels and resorts on the famous Lujinjin Avenue in Macau have been scheduled to be empty during the New Year holidays of the lunar calendar.
The turbulent crowds make Macau's famous hand Xinxin Street Dasanba Street with extra squeezing. The official once implemented crowd control, which only allows citizens or passengers to travel to Dasanba brand unilaterally.Because there were so many tourists entering the country, some store owners admitted to AFP that they were not ready for goods, and taxi drivers to describe the number of tourists in an interview with Bloomberg to describe the number of tourists.
The prosperity and decline of the Macau gaming industry
Whether the Macau tourism industry recovery will continue to be observed after the New Year holiday.It is certain that Macau is currently trying to get rid of the economy to depend on the gaming industry.
Macau is the only place in China that has been allowed to operate the gaming industry.After Macau's "open gambling right" in 2002, the local gaming industry entered a period of ultra -ordinary development and replaced Las Vegas, the world's first gambling city in 2006.
In 2019 before the outbreak, the total revenue of the Macau government was 133.5 billion yuan (S $ 21.8 billion), of which the gaming tax accounted for nearly 80%.The gaming industry also contributed 50%of the GDP (GDP) and employment of more than one -third of Macau.For the Macau economy, the gaming industry is like a geese with golden eggs.
However, the outflow of anti -corruption and control funds in Beijing in the past 10 years, in recent years, has gradually affected the energy of this goose egg.
After the outbreak, the strict "clear" policy and control measures of mainland China have even greatly impacted the gaming industry in Macau. According to Bloomberg News, Macau's total gaming revenue in December 2022 was compared with the same period of 2021.It fell 56%to 3.48 billion yuan, the lowest year since 2004.
Today, as the mainland tourists return, analysis is expected that Macau's gaming industry will recover strongly.
According to the release of the gaming industry website asia Gaming Brief, JP Morgan Chase analysts predict that the total revenue of Macau in January this year will reach US $ 960 million (S $ 1.26 billion), which is close to the three -pointer of the pre -popular level.one.
Goldman Sachs also estimates that the gaming revenue during the New Year of the Macau Lunar New Year will return to 60%of the total revenue of the Chinese New Year in 2019.
Macau strengthens the control of the gaming industry
However, some gaming giants are not optimistic because of this, because Beijing has not changed the attitude of strict corruption, gambling and capital outflows.Macau officials have been trying to try to reduce dependence on the gaming industry and make the economy diversify.
According to Agence France -Presse, a gambling consultant said that Macau currently faces a dilemma: on the one hand, the Macau Special Administrative Region Government needs to explain to Beijing to support the latter's position without advocating gambling; on the other hand, Macau is used as aOpen micro economies, the Australian government needs to ensure that this tax is maintained.
He said, it is difficult to imagine that the only city in China that legal operating a casino will abandon this industry that brings huge taxes.
The Macau gaming industry also ushered in the largest change in nearly 20 years in 2022.
The official launched a new round of gambling cards in July 2022, and re -approved the gambling card to the existing six casino operators in December for 10 years.
More importantly, the new gaming law adopted by the Macau Legislative Council last June allows the government to regulate more supervision of the casino. Among themShare profit or collect commissions in entertainment venues.
In addition, the new gaming method has continued to tighten the business of the intermediary, further restricting the functions of gambling intermediaries (commonly known as stacked codes) and third -party VIP rooms.The operating model of the VIP room was created by Macau, which rose around 1970s to the 1980s. It was a magic weapon for the prosperity of the Macau casino.Most of the year between 2002 and 2020, the gaming income from the VIP room exceeds half of the total gaming revenue of Macau, and even more than 70%of the year.Under the new gaming law, the special era of the gaming agency system as the core and the VIP room is officially ended.
I was just "Casino Tycoon" who had been sentenced to 18 years in the Macau Court last Wednesday (January 18) and Zhou Yihua, the founder of Sun City Group, was the "big guy" in Macau Gaming agency.He was arrested in 2021 and was charged with 289 charges such as blackening money and illegal business gambling, showing the official attitude of cracking down on casino agencies.
According to the Macau report, Ge Wanjin, president of the comprehensive research of Macau Social Studies, pointed out that the gaming industry relies on ordinary guests and high -end guests, while the current number of high -end guests in Macau is still very small.
He said that the VIP room service of the Macau Casino entertaining high -end guests has basically stopped; although there are still intermediaries that are providing this service, under the new betting law, the license plate of the gaming intermediary is onlyThere are 36, which is far from the previous heyday.
He said: "High -end guests generally use intermediary services, so if the intermediary service has not fully recovered, it is expected that the recovery of the gaming industry can only return to the previous 60 % to 70 %."
This also means that the Macau gaming industry will be difficult to recover to the height of the 2010s.
Macau promotes economic diversification
The Macau government has realized that the economy must continue to develop,In the future, we must be more active in the future, and we cannot rely on the gaming industry alone.
According to Reuters, the Macau government has raised conditions in the bids of gambling last year, requiring licensed holders to prioritize local employment, develop the Overseas tourism market in Macau, and increase non -gaming on non -gaming.Investment in the field.
For these six groups that have successfully won the Macau gambling card, this is a big bet.Because the strict epidemic control over the past two years has caused them to lose billions of dollars in profit.At present, these groups have invested $ 14.9 billion to build entertainment venues such as theme parks, exhibition venues, food restaurants and other entertainment venues.
Among them, Jinsha Group said on Wednesday (January 26) to investors that the company will invest at least 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in Macau in the next 10 years as its franchise in the Macau market.Part of the right to update.About 92%of planned expenditures will be used for non -casino attractions, including conference space, entertainment facilities and a new garden attraction.
The Macau Sutra He Yicheng's fiscal administration report in 2023 pointed out that the two urgent tasks of the Macau economic field are accelerating economic recovery and promoting moderate diversified development.He set a goal for Macau's diversified business development, and strive for about 60 % of the GDP in the future.
He Yicheng described that moderate diversified development is the only way to solve the deep -seated contradictions and problems in Macau's economic and social development."This process cannot be done overnight, but if this cannot be passed, the same problem will be faced in the future."
Analysis: Macau's profit from non -gaming industry will be a difficult task
Analysts believe that Macau's non -gaming industry has not performed well in the past few decades. It will be a big challenge to make considerable profits from these fields.
Li Zhongliang, an executive partner of the Macau Gaming Consulting Company, said that Macau's non -gaming income accounted for about 5%of the overall gaming revenue before the epidemic, and the number in the next 10 years must increase to more than 30%.He said: "In the past 20 years, no operator can make any major progress in this regard."
Li Zhongliang said that Macau's consumption model is different from Las Vegas and cannot pass it.Non -gaming industry obtains the same profit.He believes that the Macau Galaxy, Melco and Sands have more experience and mature management teams in this regard, and may be more ideal in terms of business diversification.
Las Vegas used to be a well -known gambling city in the world.But now this "no night city" has achieved gorgeous turn and transformed into a "world entertainment capital" with diversified tourism and entertainment elements.
The proportion of non -gaming revenue in Las Vegas also exceeded the gaming income.In August 2022, the internationally renowned financial media The Motley Fool reported that Las Vegas Gaming revenue only accounted for about a quarter of these hotels and resort revenue.In the past 20 years, these companies no longer rely on high -end gamblers, as before, and tourist venues pay more attention to non -gaming activities, such as hotel accommodation, restaurants, entertainment and shopping.
In fact, this city located in the desert has also undergone two major stages of transformation in the past 100 years to meet market demand.
In the late 1970s, the tourism industry in Las Vegas shifted from the focus of the gaming industry to "home -style Las Vegas" due to external market competition.The second stage was concentrated in the early 21st century. The tourism industry shifted from family leisure -based to comprehensive tourism industry of diversified tourism and entertainment elements such as gaming leisure, adult experience, high -end shopping, and business exhibitions.
During this period, Las Vegas also increased its investment in the exhibition industry, and attracted high -end exhibitors to host exhibitions with the international reputation of the gaming industry.Essence
The current non -gaming attractions in Macau are mainly concentrated in retail and catering. There are also some entertainment projects, such as Melco Night Club, Galaxy Cinema, Jinsha's Venetian and Parisians, and their exhibition hallsEssenceCompared with Las Vegas, Macau's non -gaming attractions are relatively inferior.
Las Vegas has daily entertainment activities and attracts a large number of international passengers.Relatively speaking, more than 90%of Macau tourists come from mainland China and Hong Kong. This is why the Australian government will strengthen attracting foreign tourists to write new contracts for casino operators.
David Green, head of the Macau Gaming Consulting Company NewPage, believes that Macau lacks traffic connections with the international market, old infrastructure, and lack of skilled employees. Various factors have enabled the Macau Casino to develop the non -gaming industry in the development of the non -gaming industry.Facing more difficult challenges.
Green added that there are few direct flights from potential markets outside China outside China, and the transportation in the city is also very limited.He said: "I did not see any signs that the government was or intended to solve these problems. Considering a series of public management issues ... this will reduce the attractiveness of these casino operators."
The lack of land in Macau has also hindered the development of non -gaming industry, and cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as domestic competition in holding meetings and exhibitions in China are also very fierce.
Li Dasheng, managing director of the Hong Kong Gaming Consulting Company 2NT8, said that the biggest challenge facing Macau operators is that mainland China can already participate in the meeting, restaurants, performances and shopping in its own city."They come to Macau for one thing, that is, not being legally allowed in China: gambling."
All signs show that the people's livelihood economy in Macau must be restless, and in the short term, I may rely on the gaming industryEssenceIn the long run, Macau must solve some limitations on the local hardware, so that the non -gaming industry can gradually develop.However, like Las Vegas, any transformation needs to invest a lot of resources and time, but whether it is successful, depending on whether the official can launch products and services that can attract more passengers and establish a unique travel experience in MacauEssence
