While September finished with a dud, Golden Week visitation is way up over last year.
The Macau stocks may react initially to September being up "only 12%" but it looks like October is off to a strong start. As reported in the press today, Macau September GGR fell short of the 15-17% Street expectations due to late month softness. We suspect hold played a role.
However, despite a tough comparison, 2012 Golden Week visitation is off to a blazing start. Total visitation from Oct 1-3 is up 36% YoY while visitation from mainland China grew 15%. In October 2011, total visitation and mainland Chinese visitation were up 14% and 31%, respectively. Higher Mass visitation particularly benefits Mass-centric properties such as LVS's Venetian and Sands Cotai Central and MPEL's City of Dreams and Galaxy Macau.
