Cheng Weidong, deputy director of the Macau government's tourism bureau, said the free food and drinks provided by casinos would not affect business at local restaurants.
In fact, as the Macau News Agency reported, despite the free food and drink offered by casinos, tourists actually spent more at local restaurants.
Furthermore, Cheng Wai Tong stated that non-gaming spending in 2023 and Q1 2024 showed an increase compared to the statistics of 2019. In the same vein, the per capita spending of tourists have experienced a rise. He substantiated this point with data from the Japanese and Korean markets, highlighting a 21 percent increase in per capita spending for the former compared to 2019's figures.
Cheng made these remarks in light of reports stating that the Government is urging concessionaires to halt the provision of free food. This measure is being pushed after some stakeholders voiced their worries that this practice of offering complimentary food and drinks could lead to a decline in both business and income for local restaurants and eateries.
But, as of the present time, there haven't been any formal updates from the government with respect to this matter.
At present, casinos in Macau continue to provide their visitors with complimentary food and beverages, featuring popular snacks like egg tarts, dim sum, and bubble tea.
Tourism and gaming are the main sources of revenue for Macau. Earlier, the International Monetary Fund said that the recovery of the tourism industry played a key role in Macau's post-epidemic economic rebound. In addition, Macau's gross gaming revenue (GGR) in May 2024 showed significant growth, indicating that both industries have performed strongly this year.
