3rd QUARTER / 2006
No. 3
Official Statistics. Reproduction of these data is allowed provided the source is quoted.
Statistics and Census Service
In the third quarter of 2006, per-capita spending of visitors rose slightly by 1% year-on-year to MOP 1,430 and that of visitors from Mainland China topped with MOP 2,898. Compared with the same period of 2005, per-capita spending of tourists fell by 2% to MOP 1,950, while that of same-day visitors increased by 2% to MOP 516.
Table 1 : Per-capita spending of visitors by place of residence
Visitor Tourist Same-day visitor
3rd quarter 2005
3rd quarter 2006
3rd quarter 2006
3rd quarter 2006
Place of residence
MOP
Δ (%)
MOP
Δa (%)
MOP
Δa (%)
Per-capita spending 1 419 1 430 0.8 1 950 -1.6 516 1.6 Mainland China 2 863 2 898 1.2 4 386 8.3 757 4.3
Hong Kong 947 988 4.3 1 258 0.7 442 -1.8
Taiwan, China 1 102 1 311 19.0 1 940 12.2 324 3.8
Japan 668 772 15.6 1 488 27.0 452 -
Southeast Asia 1 227 1 460 19.0 1 739 15.7 475 -20.8
Europe 701 746 6.4 1 150 17.3 320 -5.6
Americas 1 077 876 -18.7 1 567 -0.5 416 -6.7
Oceania 346 534 54.3 ~ .. 534 54.3
a Comparison with the same period of previous year
Per-capita non-shopping and shopping spending
In comparison with the third quarter of 2005, per-capita non-shopping spending of visitors decreased by 4% to MOP 814. Expenses on Food & Beverage and Accommodation accounted for 40% and 35% respectively of the non-shopping spending.
Per-capita shopping spending amounted to MOP 616, an increase of 7% over the third quarter of 2005. Expenses on Food & Candy (31% of shopping spending) and Clothing (20%) were the two more popular shopping items.
Although gaming expenses are not considered in the per-capita spending, about 49% of the interviewed visitors in this quarter claimed that they had gambled during their stay in Macao.
Table 2:Visitor spending by type of expenses a
3rd quarter 2005
3rd quarter 2006
Type of expenses
MOP
Δ %
Per-capita spending 1 419 1 430 0.8
Non-shopping spending 845 814 -3.7
Accommodation 296 288 -2.7
Food and beverage 342 327 -4.4
Local transport 52 49 -5.8
Outbound transport b 137 127 -7.3
Entertainment and others 18 23 27.8
Shopping spending 574 616 7.3
Clothing 100 123 23.0
Jewellery and watches 77 71 -7.8
Food and candy 175 193 10.3
Cosmetics and perfume 46 59 28.3
Cellular phones and electrical appliances 82 64 -22.0
Others 93 107 15.1
Column total may not add up to the amount stated due to rounding.
a Excluding gaming expenses
b Excluding air fare
Graph 1:Per-capita shopping spending of visitors by place of residence
Europe Americas S.E.
Asia Mainland
China
HK Taiwan,
China
Japan Oceania
3rd quarter 2005 3rdquarter 2006 MOP
0 200 400 600 800 1 000 1 200 1 400 1 600 1 800 2 000
With regard to spending structure, visitors from Mainland China spent 66% of their per- capita spending on shopping, whereas those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China spent 77% and 66% of their respective per-capita spending on non-shopping items.
In terms of shopping items, Mainland visitors had a more diversified shopping list; their proportion of shopping spending on Clothing grew from 19% in the third quarter of 2005 to 25%, while that on Jewellery & Watches and Cellular Phones & Electrical Appliances accounted for 16% and 15% respectively. For the visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China, 83% and 47% of their respective shopping spending were spent on Food & Candy.
Graph 2:Composition of per-capita spending by place of residence
Per-diem spending
Per-diem spending of visitors amounted to MOP 1,276 in this quarter, up by 3% over the third quarter of 2005. Mainland visitors had the highest per-diem spending of MOP 2,543.
Length of stay
The average length of stay of visitors (1.1 days) and same-day visitors (0.2 day) remained at the same level as in the third quarter of 2005, while that of tourists decreased by 0.1 day to 1.60days.
Table 3:Average length of stay
Day Length of stay
Type of visitors 3rd quarter 2005
3rd quarter 2006
Difference
Visitor 1.1 1.1 -
Tourist 1.7 1.6 -0.1
Same-day visitor 0.2 0.2 -
S.E.
Asia Mainland
China
HK Taiwan, China
Japan Europe Oceania
Non-shopping spending Shopping spending Americas
MOP
0 500 1 000 1 500 2 000 2 500 3 000
Characteristics of visitors
Around 70% of the interviewed visitors came to Macao mainly for vacation; other major purposes included business (13%), visiting relatives or friends (10%) and gaming (4%).
Graph 3:Major purpose of visit
Regarding the occupation of visitors, 25% were clerks; 22% were legislators, senior officials and managers, and 9% were professionals. Besides, 23% were the unemployed and the economically inactive persons, including housewives, students, as well as retired persons.
Comments from visitors
All the interviewed visitors gave comments on the environmental hygiene and points of tourist attractions in Macao. They were more satisfied with the environmental hygiene, with 53%
in favour. However, 16% considered that the points of tourist attractions were inadequate.
For the interviewees who travelled in package tours, 73% complimented on the services rendered by travel agencies. As regards to the services and facilities, 67% of the visitor-users were satisfied with the hotel services; there were also favourable comments on the services of gaming establishments (65%), restaurants (61%), shops (59%) and public transport (46%).
However, 19% suggested that the services of public transport should be improved.
Table 4:Comments on services and facilities
% Services and facilities Satisfied Fair Should be
improved No comment
Travel agencies 73 21 4 2
Hotels 67 28 4 1
Restaurants 61 34 4 1
Shops 59 34 3 4
Public transport 46 33 19 2
Gaming establishments 65 26 4 5
Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Others 3%
Visiting relatives or friends 10%
Vacation 70%
Gaming 4%
Business 13%
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.
Method of sampling
As it is impossible to interview all visitors at different departure points due to the sheer volume of them, systematic sampling method is applied in selecting samples, including all visitors who are non-residents of Macao.
Table 5:Sampling errors
MOP
Visitor Tourist Same-day visitor
Type of spending 3rd quarter 2005
3rd quarter 2006
3rd quarter 2005
3rd quarter 2006
3rd quarter 2005
3rd quarter 2006
Per-capita spending 37.6 40.0 58.0 60.3 12.3 12.6
Non-shopping spending 14.7 12.8 21.3 17.4 3.6 3.4
Shopping spending 30.4 34.5 48.2 53.2 12.0 12.9
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, 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 visitora: visitor who does not spend the night in a collective or private accommodation in the country visited.
Symbols and abbreviations - Absolute value equals zero
MOP Macao Pataca
Δ% Rate of change
% Per cent
~ No figure provided .. Not applicable
a World Tourism Organization, Concepts, Definitions and Classifications for Tourism Statistics, 1995
The following statistical tables can be downloaded 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
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 of gaming establishments