Macau Hotel Association (MHA) Vice President Rutger Verschuren was yesterday asked by reporters about Macau’s hotel occupancy this summer, saying that while June was “challenging”, this month and the next look “fantastic”.
Verschuren made the remarks after yesterday’s official presentation ceremony for receiving the LEED for Operations and Maintenance (O+M) Gold Certification held at Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau in Nape.
“I think none of us need to worry about occupancy. The typhoon [during this past weekend] was a little hiccup basically, but right away the hotels are back to high occupancy”, he said, adding that hotel guestroom occupancy stands at around 90 percent.
Verschuren also said that the room rates, although not yet back to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, were also “good”, while the sector was happy with the return of the international market, particularly highlighting the strong South Korean source market.
The work for July and August has been done, Verschuren noted, with planning now set for September when there is a usual drop in occupancy with the end of summer and children returning to school. “Occupancy drops by maybe half, and the room rates will drop as well. So, we are already working hard to get September done”.
Moreover, with Macau’s visa-free entry for five more Middle Eastern countries, Verschuren was asked by reporters if this could benefit the hotel industry, to which he responded: “Every visa change for the better is going to help us. But don’t expect any large numbers from those countries. I think there’s not much connectivity directly to Macau”, noting that if there were direct flights coming from somewhere in the Middle East directly to Macau, that would help.
“So far, those countries will have to come through Hong Kong, of course, and then find a way to Macau. So, you will see, maybe, some increase, but it will be slow”, Verschuren remarked, but he was quick to add that everything helps.
When asked about international flights, Verschuren noted that if there were more international flights to Macau, “we will definitely see more international tourists”.
As an example, he noted that South Koreans are doing very well because there are a lot of flights from South Korea. But from Japan, it could be stronger if there would be more flights coming in from the country. “So we greatly depend on the number of flights. And, of course, it’s not just MGTO or the government to control that. It must be an interest for the operators because they want to be full with the flights in and out”, he said.
