VISITOR EXPENDITURE SURVEY
4th QUARTER / 2008
No. 4
Official Statistics. Reproduction of these data is allowed provided the source is quoted.
Statistics and Census Service
17th floor, Dynasty Plaza, 411-417 Alameda Dr. Carlos d'Assumpção, Macao Tel: 8399 5311 Fax: 2830 7825 Printed in February 2009
Per-capita spending of visitors increased by 4% year-on-year to MOP 1,788 in the fourth quarter of 2008, with per-capita spending of Mainland visitors leading at MOP_4,103. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, per-capita spending of tourists went up by 4% to MOP 2,483, but that of same-day visitors decreased by 7% to MOP 499.
Table 1 : Per-Capita Spending of Visitors by Place of Residence
Visitor Tourist Same-Day Visitor
Q4 2007 Q4 2008 Q4 2008 Q4 2008
Place of Residence
MOP
Year-on-year change
(%) MOP
Year-on-year change
(%) MOP
Year-on-year change
(%)
Total 1 714 1 788 4.3 2 483 4.3 499 -6.7
Mainland China 3 641 4 103 12.7 5 381 13.9 879 1.7 Hong Kong 1 145 1 167 1.9 1 582 2.6 451 -2.9 Taiwan, China 1 587 1 421 -10.5 2 301 4.0 229 -42.7 Japan 874 928 6.2 1 965 22.1 431 -10.9 Southeast Asia 1 595 1 699 6.6 2 031 6.3 443 -19.5 Europe 839 1 255 49.7 2 031 18.0 383 -12.6 Americas 1 127 1 283 13.8 1 917 2.2 451 -6.7 Oceania 947 1 392 46.9 2 117 8.1 403 -12.3
Per-Capita Non-Shopping and Shopping Spending
Per-capita non-shopping spending of visitors went up slightly by 1% year-on-year to MOP 1,082. Expenses on Accommodation and Food & Beverage accounted for 47% and 35%
respectively of the non-shopping spending.
Per-capita shopping spending of visitors amounted to MOP 706, up by 10% over the fourth quarter of 2007. Local Food Products (30% of shopping spending) and Clothing (19%) were the two more popular shopping items.
Although gaming expenses are not considered in the per-capita spending of visitors, about 52% of the interviewed visitors in the fourth quarter claimed that they had participated in gaming activities during their stay in Macao.
Table 2 : Visitor Spending by Type of Expense a
Q4 2007 Q4 2008 Type of Expense
MOP
Year-on-year change
(%)
Per-Capita Spending 1 714 1 788 4.3
Non-Shopping Spending 1 073 1 082 0.8
Accommodation 485 510 5.0
Food and Beverage 377 374 -0.9
Local Transport 51 49 -3.3
Outbound Transport (excluding airfare) 138 123 -10.8 Entertainment and Others 21 26 21.2
Shopping Spending 641 706 10.1
Clothing 105 136 29.2
Jewellery/Watches 59 104 77.4
Local Food Products 204 211 3.0
Cosmetics/Perfume 63 71 12.9
Cellular Phones/Electrical Equipment 76 37 -51.3
Shoes/Handbags/Wallets 61 86 40.8
Others 73 61 -15.9
Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding.
a Excluding gaming expenses.
Graph I : Per-Capita Shopping Spending of Visitors by Place of Residence
0 500 1 000 1 500 2 000 2 500 3 000
Europe Americas S.E.
Asia Mainland
China
Hong Kong
Taiwan, China
Japan Oceania
MOP
With regard to the spending structure, visitors from Mainland China spent 63% of their per- capita spending on shopping, whereas those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China spent 79% and 78% of their respective per-capita spending on non-shopping items.
In addition, the types of goods purchased by Mainland visitors had diversified to a wider variety, namely Clothing (22% of shopping spending), Jewellery/Watches (20%), Shoes/Handbags/
Wallets (16%), Cosmetics/Perfume (14%) and Local Food Products (11%). As for visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China, 83% and 53% of their per-capita shopping spending were spent on Local Food Products.
Graph II : Structure of Visitors’ Per-Capita Spending by Place of Residence
0 500 1 000 1 500 2 000 2 500 3 000 3 500 4 000 4 500
Per-Diem Spending
Per-diem spending of visitors amounted to MOP 1,561 in the fourth quarter of 2008, which increased by 4% over the same quarter of 2007. Mainland visitors had the highest per-diem spending of MOP 2,786.
Length of Stay
The average length of stay of visitors held stable at 1.1 days, same as in the fourth quarter of 2007. The average for tourists remained unchanged at 1.6 days but that for same-day visitors decreased by 0.1 day to 0.2 day.
Table 3 : Average Length of Stay of Visitors
Day Length of Stay
Type of Visitor
Q4 2007 Q4 2008 Difference
Visitor 1.1 1.1 -
Tourist 1.6 1.6 -
Same-Day Visitor 0.3 0.2 -0.1
Non-Shopping Spending Shopping Spending
Europe Americas S.E.
Asia Mainland
China
Hong Kong
Taiwan, China
Japan Oceania
MOP
Characteristics of Visitors
Around 72% of the interviewed visitors came to Macao mainly for Vacation; other major purposes of visit included Business & Attending Conventions/Exhibitions (12%), Visiting Relatives/Friends (8%) and Gaming (4%).
Graph III : Main Purpose of Visit
With regard to the occupation of visitors, 24% were legislators, senior officials & managers;
21% were clerks and 11% were professionals. Moreover, 21% were the unemployed and the economically inactive persons, including housewives, students, as well as retired persons.
Visitors’ Comments
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 62% in favour; however, 12% considered that the points of tourist attractions in Macao were inadequate.
For those travelling in package tours, 76% complimented on the services rendered by travel agencies. As regards other services and facilities, 79% of the visitor-users were satisfied with those offered by gaming establishments; there were also favourable comments on the services of hotels (78%), shops (70%), restaurants (67%) and public transport (55%).
However, 10% of the interviewed visitors suggested that the public transport services should be improved.
Table 4:Visitors’ Comments on Services and Facilities
% Services and Facilities Satisfied Fair Should Be
Improved No Comment
Travel Agencies 76 18 4 2
Hotels 78 18 3 1
Restaurants 67 28 3 2
Shops 70 25 2 4
Public Transport 55 32 10 3
Gaming Establishments 79 17 1 3
Visiting Relatives/Friends 8%
Others 4%
Vacation 72%
Gaming 4%
Business & Attending Conventions/Exhibitions
12%
Methodology Visitor Expenditure Survey is conducted at different departure points on a daily basis, to collect information on visitors’ spending (excluding gaming expenses) during their stay in Macao.
To facilitate the data collection process, the questionnaire is available in Chinese, Portuguese, English and Japanese.
Sampling Method
Due to the vast volume of visitor movements at different departure points, systematic sampling method is applied in selecting samples from all visitors who are non-residents of Macao.
Table 5 : Sampling Errors
MOP
Visitor Tourist Same-Day Visitor
Type of Spending
Q4 2007 Q4 2008 Q4 2007 Q4 2008 Q4 2007 Q4 2008
Per-Capita Spending 43.3 51.3 64.5 76.0 11.7 11.8
Non-Shopping Spending 16.6 16.5 22.3 21.9 3.4 3.3
Shopping Spending 35.2 43.8 54.3 66.7 11.8 11.8
Concept 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 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-house, etc.
b) Same-Day Visitora: visitor who does not spend the night in a collective or private accommodation in the country visited.
Main Purpose of Visita:
Purpose is a fundamental characteristic of the visit or trip since it represents the motivation for the visit or trip. It refers to the purpose in the absence of which the trip would not have been made or the given destination would not have been visited.
Symbols and Abbreviations - Absolute value equals zero
MOP Macao Pataca
% Per cent
The following statistical tables are available for download from our website
1- Characteristics of interviewed visitors by place of residence
2- Average length of stay of interviewed visitors by place of residence 3- Per-capita spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence
4- Per-capita non-shopping spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence 5- Per-capita shopping spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence 6- Per-diem spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence
7- Per-capita spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence and type of expense
8- Per-capita shopping spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence and type of expense
9- Other characteristics of interviewed visitors by place of residence 10- Occupation of interviewed visitors by place of residence
11- Sampling errors of per-capita spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence and type of expense
12- Sampling errors of per-capita shopping spending of interviewed visitors by place of residence and type of expense
13- Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of travel agencies
14- Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of restaurants and similar establishments 15- Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of hotels and similar establishments 16- Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of shops
17- Interviewed visitors’ comments on services of public transport 18- Interviewed visitors’ comments on environmental hygiene 19- Interviewed visitors’ comments on points of tourist attractions
20- Interviewed visitors’ comments on services and facilities of gaming establishments