Tourist spending more in Macau
Tourists are spending more when travelling to Macau, with figures from the Statistics and Census Services showing an increase of 15.08 percent to 145.79 in the Tourist Price Index (TPI) in the first quarter of this year, compared to last year.
The price indices of miscellaneous goods, restaurant services and accommodation registered significant increase of 33.75 percent, 19.52 percent and 13.34 percent, respectively, with increments attributable to dearer jewellery prices driven by rising gold prices, as well as higher charges of restaurant services and hotel room rates during the Lunar New Year holidays.
Compared with the fourth quarter of last year, TPI rose by 6.92 percent in the first quarter of this year, with notable increase of 16.97 percent in the indices of miscellaneous goods, and 6.71 percent in restaurant services.
Meanwhile, the price index of entertainment and culture increased by 3.32 percent owing to rising prices of fireworks and firecrackers during the Lunar New Year holidays. The average TPI for the last four quarters ending in the first quarter of this year increased by 10.86 percent over the previous period.
TPI reflects the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors, which is compiled based on the consumption pattern of visitors derived from the Visitor Expenditure Survey. TPI covers eight sections of goods and services, namely food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco; clothing and footwear; accommodation; restaurant service; transport and communications; medicine and personal goods; entertainment and culture; and miscellaneous goods.
The base year of TPI is from July 1999 to June 2000.
2008-04-30
