Macau Tourist Spending Fell 17% Last Year

The final 2015 numbers out of Macau indicate that it wasn’t just the gaming segment of Macau’s economy that suffered last year. According to the Macau Statistics and Census Service, non-gaming visitor spending fell 17.2 percent in 2015. This decrease represents the first year-over-year decline in non-gaming visitor spending for Macau since the agency began releasing the numbers in 2010.

Overnight visitor spending took the biggest hit last year, dropping 21.1 percent, while same-day spending actually increased by 0.9 percent on the year.

Related Link: Macau Investors: Look At The Forest, Not The Trees

The Q4 numbers showed a bit of hope for Macau bulls. While Q4 non-gaming spending was down 5.5 percent year-over-year, spending was actually up 7.8 percent compared to Q3.

Macau’s economy is driven by its casinos, but 46 percent of the non-gaming visitor spend in Q4 was on shopping. In addition, 25.5 percent of spending was devoted to accommodations and 20.4 percent was on food.

Shareholders of the four U.S.-listed Macau casino operators are happy to see 2015 go. MGM Resorts International MGM was up 8 percent on the year, but the stocks of Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS, Wynn Resorts, Limited WYNN and Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd (ADR) MPEL were all down between 22 and 52 percent on the year.

Disclosure: The author is long Wynn Resorts and Melco Crown Entertainment.