During April, Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) was MOP14.72 billion, which is approximately 1.83 billion US dollars. Furthermore, it grew by 15.6% from MOP12.74 billion in March.

Best monthly performance in a long time:

This GGR was the highest monthly performance in a long time, since January 2020, aka before the pandemic warning started.

“The April tally was up 449.9 percent from the prior-year period,” according to data unveiled Monday by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the local regulator.

In addition, casino GGR in Macau totaled MOP49.36 billion in the four months to April 30, up 141.4% compared to a year earlier.

The calculation for the first four months of 2023 has already surpassed the total GGR for last year. However, throughout 2022, Macau casino GGR declined by 51.4% year-on-year to MOP42.20 billion.

Moreover, the last two days of April are included in Labour Day, which is celebrated on May 1. In this regard, China’s State Council has determined that the entire holiday period lasts from April 29 to May 3.

Credit Suisse AG suggested in a recent note that “Macau could achive a daily average rate of casino GGR amounting to as much as MOP750 million during the first three days of the holiday period, which sometimes is referred to by the investment community as May Golden Week.”

Highest number of visitors after COVID-19:

Macau recorded the highest number of daily visitor arrivals this Sunday, with 133,911 arrivals on the second day of China’s “May Day” Golden Week holiday.

“A total of around 570,000 people entered and exited Macau on Sunday, of which more than 290,000 were arrivals and 133,911 of those tourists. There were more than 283,000 exits, with tourists accounting for around 120,000,” according to information uveiled by the Public Security Police.

Looking at the total number of visitors, 145,000 passed through the Border Gate, 44,000 through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and 42,000 through the QingMao Port.

In this regard, the Macau Public Security Police also said that “Saturday to Monday will be the peak period for immigration, and the average daily number of people entering and leaving the city may exceed 500,000.”

After the lifting of the anti-epidemic policy in Macau on January 8, this week’s holiday is the second “Golden Week” celebrated in Macau since the pandemic. Looking at total arrivals last year, the number of visitors to Macau on a single day on Sunday was nearly the same as throughout the entire five-day Golden Week last year, when an average 137,000 visitors came, compared to 27,000 per day.

Still, that’s nothing compared to the four-day Golden Week holiday in 2019, prior to the pandemic, when 636,000 visitors visited Macau, with a daily average of 159,000 visitors.