VISITOR EXPENDITURE SURVEY
3rd QUARTER / 2004
No. 3
Official Statistics. Reproduction of these data is allowed provided the source is quoted.
Statistics and Census Service
17th floor, “Dynasty Plaza” Bldg., 411-417 Alameda Dr. Carlos d'Assumpção, Macao Tel: 3995311 Fax: 307825 Printed in November 2004
E-mail: info@dsec.gov.mo Homepage: http://www.dsec.gov.mo
In the third quarter of 2004, per-capita spending of visitors increased by 2% to MOP1,497 over the same quarter of 2003. Per-capita spending of visitors from Mainland China topped the list, at MOP2,567. Compared with the same period of 2003, per-capita spending of tourists (MOP1,886) and same-day visitors (MOP519) grew 9% and 32% respectively.
Per-capita spending of visitors arriving by sea rose 3% to MOP1,331, while spending of visitors arriving by land and by air was MOP1,232 and MOP4,020, down 12% and 4% respectively compared with the same period of 2003. Per-capita spending of visitors from Mainland China was the highest among all modes of transport, at MOP2,179 (by sea), MOP1,880 (by land) and MOP5,174 (by air) respectively.
Table 1 : Per-capita spending of visitors by place of residence
3rd quarter 3rd quarter 3rd quarter 2004
2003 2004 By sea By land By air
Place of residence
MOP
∆%
MOP
Total 1 461 1 497 2.5 1 331 1 232 4 020
Mainland China 2 618 2 567 -1.9 2 179 1 880 5 174
Hong Kong 994 1 017 2.3 1 042 588 ~
Taiwan, China 1 389 1 006 -27.6 906 503 1 333
Japan 831 716 -13.8 716 ~ ~
Southeast Asia 2 069 1 363 -34.1 1 363 ~ ~
Europe 1 386 613 -55.8 613 ~ ~
Americas 1 249 1 214 -2.8 1 214 ~ ~
Oceania 1 367 443 -67.6 443 ~ ~
Per-capita non-shopping and shopping spending
Compared with the third quarter of 2003, per-capita non-shopping spending of visitors grew slightly by 0.5% to MOP844. Spending on “food and beverage” was the highest, followed by
“accommodation”, which accounted for 40% and 36% of the total non-shopping spending.
Furthermore, per-capita shopping spending of visitors was MOP653, an increase of 5% over the same period of 2003. Spending on “Chinese pastry, candy and food” (28% of the total shopping spending) and “Jewellery and watches” (21%) were the top two items on the list.
Although gambling spending is not considered in the per-capita spending of visitors, in the third quarter of 2004, about 52% of the interviewed visitors reported that they had gambled during their stay in Macao.
Table 2 : Visitor spending by type of expense a
3rd quarter 3rd quarter 3rd quarter 2004
2003 2004 By sea By land By air
Type of expense
MOP ∆ %
MOP
Per-capita spending 1 461 1 497 2.5 1 331 1 232 4 020
Non-shopping spending 840 844 0.5 786 699 1 804
Accommodation 310 305 -1.6 270 244 841
Food and beverage 340 337 -0.9 312 289 730
Local transport 51 47 -7.8 44 49 71
Outbound transport b 104 127 22.1 135 98 65
Entertainment and others 35 28 -20.0 24 19 97
Shopping spending 621 653 5.2 545 533 2 216
Clothing and fabrics 101 126 24.8 90 106 630
Jewellery and watches 134 137 2.2 98 58 754
Chinese pastry, candy and food 202 186 -7.9 190 168 166
Cosmetics and perfume 44 57 29.5 40 83 247
Others 140 146 4.3 128 119 420
Column totals may not add up to the amount as stated due to rounding.
a Excluding gambling spending
b Excluding air ticket
Graph I : Per-capita shopping spending of visitors by place of residence
For visitors from Mainland China, 59% of their per-capita spending were on shopping. On the contrary, those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China spent mainly on non-shopping items, which constituted 75% and 66% respectively of their per-capita spending.
In terms of shopping items, visitors from Mainland China spent 28% of the total shopping spending on “Jewellery and watches” whereas those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China spent mainly on “Chinese pastry, candy and food”, making up 77% and 37% respectively of their total shopping spending.
Europe Americas S.E.
Asia Mainland
China
H.K. Taiwan, China
Japan Oceania
MOP
3rd quarter 2003 3rd quarter 2004
0 200 400 600 800 1 000 1 200 1 400 1 600 1 800
Graph I I : Structure of per-capita spending by place of residence
Per-diem spending
Per-diem spending of visitors was MOP1,352 in the third quarter of 2004, up 16% over the same period of 2003. Visitors from Mainland China had the highest per-diem spending, at MOP2,239.
Per-diem spending of visitors arriving by sea and by air was MOP1,249 and MOP2,180, up 17% and 34% respectively compared with the third quarter of 2003. Per-diem spending of visitors arriving by land fell 7% to MOP1,232.
Length of stay
The average length of stay of visitors was 1.1 days, down 0.2 day over the same quarter of 2003, whereas the average of tourists (1.5 days) and same-day visitors (0.2 day) remained unchanged.
In addition, visitors from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and the Americas tended to stay one night or longer in Macao.
Table 3 : Average length of stay
Day Length of stay
Type of visitors 3rd quarter 2003
3rd quarter 2004
Difference
Visitor 1.3 1.1 -0.2
Tourist 1.5 1.5 -
Same-day visitor 0.2 0.2 -
S.E.
Asia Mainland
China
H.K. Taiwan, China
Japan Europe Americas Oceania
MOP
Non-shopping spending Shopping spending 0
500 1 000 1 500 2 000 2 500 3 000
Characteristics of visitors
76% of the interviewed visitors came to Macao mainly for “vacation”; other major purposes included “business” (10%), “visiting relatives or friends” (7%) and “gambling” (4%).
Graph III : Main purpose of visit
In terms of the occupation of the visitors, 26% of them were “legislators, senior officials and managers”, 24% “clerks” and 10% “technicians and associate professionals”; 21% of the visitors were
“ without occupation” such as housewives, students, unemployed and retired persons.
Comments from visitors
All the interviewed visitors commented on the environmental hygiene and points of tourist attractions in Macao. They were more satisfied with the environmental hygiene, with 59% in favour.
As regards the comments on the services and facilities provided, 67% of the interviewees appreciated the services of shops in Macao. There were also favourable comments on services of restaurants (66%), public transport (64%) and hotels (63%). For those interviewees who travelled in package tours, 61% complimented on the services rendered by travel agencies.
However, 8% of the interviewed visitors suggested that the services provided by public transport should be improved.
Table 4：Comments on services and facilities
% Services and facilities Satisfied Fair Should be
improved No comment
Travel agencies 61 26 6 8
Hotels 63 30 6 1
Restaurants 66 29 4 1
Shops 67 28 2 4
Public transport 64 27 8 2
Percentage totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Visiting relatives / friends 7%
Vacation 76%
Gambling 4%
Others 3%
Business 10%
Methodology
Visitor Expenditure Survey is conducted at different departure points on a daily basis, to collect information on visitors’ spending, excluding gambling expenses, during their stay in Macao. To facilitate the data collection process, the questionnaire is available in Chinese, Portuguese, English and Japanese.
Method of sampling
As it is impossible to interview all visitors at different departure points due to the sheer volumn of them. Visitor Expenditure Survey uses a systematic sampling method in selecting samples, including tourists and same-day visitors who are non-residents of Macao.
Table 5 : Sampling errors
MOP
Visitor Tourist Same-day visitor
Mode of transport
3rd quarter 2003
3rd quarter 2004
3rd quarter 2003
3rd quarter 2004
3rd quarter 2003
3rd quarter 2004
Per-capita spending 33.0 42.9 39.9 57.6 9.8 18.6
By sea 28.3 35.8 33.6 47.8 11.9 21.1
By land 77.1 95.5 103.8 140.9 17.4 27.5
By air 354.3 414.1 375.4 448.3 19.9 26.0
Non-shopping spending 12.2 14.6 14.2 18.2 3.6 4.3
By sea 11.4 12.1 12.9 14.4 4.2 4.7
By land 29.5 49.5 38.7 71.3 6.2 9.6
By air 104.7 128.1 108.1 136.2 8.1 15.9
Shopping spending 27.1 36.7 33.6 50.5 8.8 18.5
By sea 23.4 31.4 28.5 43.0 10.8 21.2
By land 61.7 69.5 85.4 109.8 16.1 25.0
By air 310.0 363.4 332.5 397.9 19.7 15.7
Concepts
Visitora:
Any person travelling to a place other than that of his/her usual environment for less than 12 consecutive months and whose main purpose of travel is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.
Classification of visitors:
a) Tourist (overnight visitor): visitor who stays at least one night in a collective or private accommodation in the country visiteda. In addition, we have added two criteria, which are as follows:
1) visitor who stays for more than 24 hours in Macao, or
2) visitor who stays for less than 24 hours and does not stay overnight in Macao but with his/her arrangement made in a collective accommodation such as hotel, guest-houses, etc..
b) Same-day visitor a: visitor who does not spend the night in a collective or private accommodation in the country visited.
Symbols and abbreviations
~ No figure provided
- Absolute value equals zero
MOP Macao Pataca
Δ% Rate of change
% Per cent
a World Tourism Organization, Concepts, Definitions and Classifications for Tourism Statistics, 1995
The following statistical tables can be downloaded from our website
Table 1 : Characteristics of interviewed visitors by place of residence
Table 2 : Average length of stay of interviewed visitors by place of residence Table 3 : Per-capita spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence
Table 4 : Per-capita non-shopping spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence Table 5 : Per-capita shopping spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence Table 6 : Per-diem spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence
Table 7 : Per-capita spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence and type of expense Table 8 : Per-capita shopping spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence and type of
expense
Table 9 : Other characteristics of interviewed visitors by place of residence Table 10 : Occupation of interviewed visitors by place of residence
Table 11 : Sampling errors of per-capita spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence and type of expense
Table 12 : Sampling errors of per-capita shopping spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence and type of expense
Table 13 : Interviewed visitors’ comments on general prices in Macao Table 14 : Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of travel agencies Table 15 : Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of restaurants
Table 16 : Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of hotels and similar establishments Table 17 : Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of shops
Table 18 : Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of public transport Table 19 : Interviewed visitors’ comments on environmental hygiene Table 20 : Interviewed visitors’ comments on points of tourist attractions
