Operator News
China – Latest COVID outbreaks and travel restrictions threaten Macau’s latest Golden Week
By Phil - 27 September 2021
The latest outbreak of COVID-19 will put a huge dampener on Macau’s Golden Week, set to run from October 1 to 7 with analysts predicting that half of the people who have booked their travel and accommodation will now be unable to make the trip.
The SAR has declared a ‘state of immediate prevention’ following two reported cases of COVID-19 with Credit Suisse analysts Kenneth Fong, Lok Kan Chan, Sardonna Fong saying ’40 to 50 per cent of players have cancelled their trip, on concerns that the situation could drag on longer than expected and they may need to be quarantined upon return to China. In fact, we have heard that several players have faced mandatory quarantine on return to China from Macau over the past few days.”
JP Morgan’s DS Kim, Amanda Cheng and Livy Lyu said: “The timing of these travel restrictions could hardly be worse, as the industry was preparing for solid pent-up demand for the upcoming Golden Week. While there’s still a possibility that travel restrictions could be lifted before or during Golden Week, we think it’s a foregone conclusion that it will be an un-golden holiday as many players are likely to cancel the trips to avoid risks of being quarantined upon their return to mainland.”
