The number of visitors arriving in Macau showed some minor improvement over the weekend, registering around 13,000 arrivals on Saturday and 9,700 on Sunday according to figures from the Public Security Police Forces.
Those figures, representing the first weekend since approvals of Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) visas began kicking in on Tuesday 1 September, compared with 10,500 arrivals on Saturday and 9,500 on the last weekend in August.
Guangdong Province resumed IVS for residents to visit Macau from 26 August, however the approval process for each visa takes seven days.
IVS is scheduled to resume for all of mainland China from 23 September, with Macau’s gaming operators hoping for a welcome boost in time for “Golden Week” starting 1 October.
Gross gaming revenue for the SAR has fallen by more than 90% year-on-year for the past five months, including a 94.5% decline in August to MOP$1.33 billion (US$166 million). Analysts are estimating a decline of closer to 85% for September.