Golden Week Isn’t Looking as Prosperous for Macau’s Casinos
- Sluggish China economy, trade war weigh on gambling enclave
- Less than half of Macau hotel rooms are booked before holiday
Casinos and hotels stand illuminated at night on the Cotai strip in Macau.
Photographer: Anthony Kwan/BloombergMacau’s casinos face dimmer prospects for the upcoming Golden Week holiday as the slowing Chinese economy and trade war with the U.S. hang over the world’s biggest gambling hub.
About 40 percent of rooms in the territory’s 3-to-5-star hotels have been fully booked as of Friday, three days before China’s week-long holiday starts, according to online booking websites including Agoda.com and Expedia. That compares with 80 percent at roughly the same time last year. Hotels in Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, are charging about double or triple their usual prices, a lower premium than in 2017 when some suites were listed at five times the typical rate.