Operator News

China – Coronavirus wipes 50 per cent off Macau’s first two days of Golden Week

By Phil - 27 January 2020

The first two days of Macau’s usually popular Golden Week have seen attendance figures wiped by nearly 50 per cent as travel restrictions are tightened to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, which has now killed 80 people and left 400 in a critical condition.

The number of visitors arriving in Macau fell by 49.9 per cent year-on-year. The Macao Government Tourism Office confirmed that visitor arrivals totalled 112,936 on Friday and Saturday, with 55,098 entering the SAR on the first day of the Chinese New Year holiday period, a drop of 34.6 per cent from 84,777 in 2019, and 57,838 on the second day, a fall of 59 per cent from 141,306.

There have been six confirmed cases of the virus in Macau with one ill guest believed to have been staying at the Sheraton at Sands Cotai Central with another staying at The Venetian Macao and another staying at Galaxy Macau. All three are currently in hospital.

Sheraton said: “As a matter of privacy, we do not comment on details related to guests who have stayed with us. We continue to work in close partnership with the authorities. The well being of our guests is of the utmost importance to us. We are reinforcing our existing protocols for addressing public health issues. We encourage travellers and guests to pay close attention to guidance provided by their local authorities.”

A number of venues have temporarily closed including Club Cubic at City of Dreams and Poker King Club (PKC) at The Venetian Macao with the latter ‘now closed for disinfection and will reopen upon further notice.’

Analysts at Bernstein, Vitaly Umansky, Eunice Lee and Kelsey Zhu, said: “We see an increasing near-term risk for short-term negative impact on Macau. Unfortunately, the widening infection rate is leading to growing concern around the negative effect on Macau and travel in general, especially during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday period. We have also learned that there are likely to be cancellations of some Chinese New Year casino and junket parties and events, which if true, signals that the Chinese New Year period will likely see softer business than anticipated. While at this stage we have not yet heard of any material cancellations of hotel booking or customer visits for the holiday period, the reality is that there will be cancellations.”