The Macau Metro Monitor, February 12th, 2010
MACAU TOURIST ARRIVALS FALL 3% YOY IN DECEMBER DSEC
According to the Statistics and Census Service, visitor arrivals in package tours to Macau decreased 3% y-o-y to 486,382 in December. Tourists from mainland China dropped 4% to 332,550, while those from Hong Kong and Taiwan slumped 20.3% and 31.4%, respectively. On the other hand, tourists from Japan increased 24.9%. Meanwhile, the number of Macau residents traveling abroad in package tours jumped 11.2% annually to 25,202 in December, with mainland China and Japan being the most popular destinations.
GONG XI FA CAI Destination Macau
Macau expectations are high for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Right now, it is a good sign that all hotels are fully booked for 12 days starting Feb 12. Sunday and Monday may not be very busy on the mass floors as day-trippers celebrate CNY with family members but DM expects heavy traffic through Gongbei on Tuesday.
GALAXY LANDS SOME BIG FISH Destination Macau
Galaxy has recently made some big profile hires ahead of it's 1Q2011 opening of Galaxy Macau Resort. DM has heard through the grapevine that Galaxy hired Jorge Neto Valente and Mark Brown. Mr. Valente is known as Macau's premier dealmaker who formerly served as Venetian Macau's managing director and Mark Brown was formerly the head of LVS's macau operations before being pushed out.
CHINA CRACKS DOWN ON ONLINE GAMING Destination Macau
DM thinks that China's recently launched online gaming crackdown could impact some of Macau's biggest VIP room operators who run online gaming sites in China as a way to traffic money on and offshore. If these VIP operators are impacted, it would hamper their ability to service junket players.
