Macau casinos revenue jumps 82.5% on year in January
Tourists pose for photos in Macau on January 26.
Macau posted an 82.5 percent year-on-year rise in gambling revenue to 11.6 billion patacas (US$1.4 billion) in January, after the world's biggest gambling hub had nearly half a million visitor arrivals over the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday.
The crowds were the biggest in more than three years, but January's revenue was still less than half of the Lunar New Year period in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to data released by Macau government on Wednesday.
Macau has seen a resurgence of tourists from the mainland since January 8 after the region dropped all COVID-19 testing requirements for inbound travelers from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan.
Tens of thousands of tourists streamed daily into Macau's casinos and picturesque cobbled streets over the Spring Festival holiday from January 21, a stark contrast to the dearth of visitors since 2020.
Macau is the only place in the country where gambling in casinos is legal. It had closely followed China's COVID strategy since 2019 and reopened alongside the mainland.
