The gaming mecca enjoyed a higher number of visitors than pre-pandemic numbers during the 75th National Day celebrations. CE candidate Sam Hou Fai said the city could attract more traffic with superstar entertainment, especially a permanent casino.
The Macau Government Tourism Office (MTGO) tallied that about 915,700 tourists visited during the first six days of the seven-day Golden Week holiday. The average number of animals per day exceeded 152,600, exceeding the target of 130,000 per day.
Golden Week commemorates the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. It is one of the busiest travel seasons in China. And this year, despite lingering economic uncertainty and rock-bottom consumer confidence, people flocked to revel.
From October 2 to October 5, the number of arrivals from mainland China, Macau's main feeder market, increased by almost 55% year-on-year. Tourist arrivals peaked on October 3, with more than 174,000 visitors, a new record high for daily visitors.
However, visitors from Hong Kong fell by more than 25% to less than 80,000.
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At a town hall meeting on Saturday, Macau's sole candidate for chief executive said the special administrative region's casinos need to beef up their entertainment calendars to attract more patrons.
“We are falling behind in many areas,” said former appeals court judge Sam Hou Fai. He suggested that Macau leverage its strengths as an emerging center of tourism and leisure. City leaders set this goal in 2011. This was followed by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) Development Plan in 2018.
“We're less competitive in some ways than others,” Sam said. “We lag behind Shenzhen's technology, Guangzhou's comprehensive strength and Hong Kong's financial center.”
“Our unique advantages have not yet been fully exploited. In the future, we must compensate for our shortcomings on these fronts in a targeted way,” he said.
Sam said casino operators should encourage resident superstars like Las Vegas.
“The famous British singer, who once performed in a residency show in Las Vegas, has been offered around $200 million (£152.76 million/€182.1 million) for a similar deal in Macau. ” he said. “She turned down the offer to take care of her family and children, but could she continue to promote initiatives like this to make it a long-term business?”
Some publications have identified British songstress Adele as the singer in question.
The chief executive election will be held on October 13th. Current Macau CEO Ho Iat Seng announced in August that he would not seek re-election due to health reasons.
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