Streets deserted with vacant shops available for rent near the Golden Market in the Areia Preta area of Macau on July 12, 2024. (Credit to Li Cheng'en)
This year, a large number of vacant shops have appeared in Macau, and tourist areas are no exception. Similar to Macau, Hong Kong, which promotes “northbound travel” to mainland China, has also seen an increase in vacant storefronts and an economic decline.
The “Northbound Travel for Macau Vehicles” policy began on Dec. 20, 2022. It allowed private vehicles in Macau to enter Guangdong Province via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge after registration. In Hong Kong, a similar policy named “Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles” started on July 1, 2023.
“Since the government started ‘Northbound Travel for Macau Vehicles,’ many Macau people even go to Zhuhai [city] for tea.” Li Cheng'en, a local Macau resident, told The Epoch Times.
According to official figures, Macau’s GDP grew by 25.7 percent in the first quarter of 2024, yet empty storefronts increased rapidly. According to the Business Climate Survey for the Catering and Retail Industries published by the Macau Statistics and Census Service, the sales revenue of catering and retail businesses in May of this year decreased by 5.9 percent and 25.9 percent year-on-year, respectively. The Macau Economic Association has described this contradiction as “ice and fire.”
In the first five months of 2024, the number of visitors to Macau was 14.2 million, a 17.6 percent decrease from the same period before the pandemic. The average tourist expenditures per overnight visitor and same-day visitor in the first quarter were MOP$4,024 (US$501) and MOP$817 (US$102), a 14 percent and 28.4 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2023, respectively.
According to Ms. Li, a casino worker, tourists mostly spend their money in casinos. She said that casino gift shops are more convenient to tourists than those in the city.
“There are more budget travelers and far fewer high rollers now, with the average spending around half of what it used to be,” she said.
Moreover, the type of gamblers has also changed.
“Previously, people came to gamble with spare money for entertainment. Now, many can’t afford to lose, and more cases of hotel suicides occur,” said Ms. Li.
Macau’s casinos are comprehensive tourist destinations, covering most needs such as hotels, gambling, entertainment, shopping, and dining. According to a casino named the Venetian, popular places such as Lord Stow’s Bakery are located within the casino complex, as are other famous pastry shops such as Koi Kei Bakery and Choi Heong Yuen in different casinos. Even mid-range to low-spending customers may not necessarily need to visit traditional tourist areas for souvenirs.
In May, Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said at a press conference that the gaming industry accounted for about 36.2 percent of Macau’s GDP in 2023, down by 63 percent from a peak in previous years. According to statistics from the Macau Statistics and Census Service, Macau’s gaming revenue for the first half of 2024 amounted to MOP$113.75 billion (US$14.13 billion), a 42 percent year-on-year increase, although it was still down by 24 percent from 2019, before the pandemic. Amid the difficulty of stimulating local residents’ consumption, Hong Kong has seen a trend of “northbound consumption” similar to Macau. According to statistics from the Macau Public Security Police Force, the number of Macau residents traveling abroad in the first five months of 2024 reached 15.52 million, marking a 22 percent annual increase.
Even the chief executive, Mr. Ho, urged residents to spend locally.
“Have at least one meal in Macau instead of heading north [to mainland China] for all three meals,” he said at the Legislative Council meeting in April.
Shops for rent at Centro Commercial Central on Avenida do Almirante Lacerda in Macau on July 12, 2024. (Courtesy of Li Cheng'en)
The retail industry in Hong Kong has also been affected. After the implementation of the National Security Law in 2020, the number of foreign tourists decreased, and mainland tourists have been traveling on a low budget. Consequently, rental prices for prime shops in popular tourist spots previously filled with prestigious brands have significantly dropped.
According to the 2024–2025 rental value data released by the Rating and Valuation Department on March 18, the rental value of some street-level shops in Causeway Bay, home to many brand stores in Hong Kong, has dropped by about 20 percent. Meanwhile, in Tsim Sha Tsui, another tourist-heavy area, some shop rental values have plummeted by more than 34 percent.
On May 13, 2024, 1881 Heritage, one of the landmarks in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, which used to house various international brand stores, is now empty. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times)
The latest statistics from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department reveal that the total revenue of restaurants reached HK$119.5 billion (US$15.3 billion), recovering to only about 84 percent of the prepandemic level in 2018. In May of this year, the retail sales value decreased by 11.5 percent year over year. On May 6, the deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Howard Lee, stated at a meeting of the Legislative Council’s Financial Affairs Committee that as of mid-April, the bad debt rate for the 100 percent guaranteed particular loans for small and midsize enterprises was 7.5 percent, reflecting a challenging business outlook.
Changing Demographics
Macau hosts just more than 180,000 foreign workers, constituting nearly half of the total labor force of 372,000. Many of these foreign workers do not reside in Macau but commute from neighboring areas in China such as Shenzhen and Zhuhai, similar to many Hong Kong professionals. As a result, their salaries and government subsidies do not significantly contribute to local consumption.
Since the regulation allowing the importation of foreign workers began in 1988, Macau’s population structure has undergone significant changes over 34 years. The number of foreign workers nearing 200,000 has become a norm, a notably high proportion of Macau’s total population of 686,000.
With the demographic shift, tourists contribute to all-in-one casino consumption, while local residents and foreign workers spend their holidays consuming goods and services, northward. Despite Macau’s economic growth of 25 percent, there is still a wave of closures among local street shops, reflecting ongoing challenges in stimulating local consumption.
Hong Kong's intake of foreign labor is approaching that of Macau. (The Epoch Times)
After the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, hundreds of thousands of people have emigrated to other countries. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has been actively recruiting foreign workers and professionals to fill this gap since 2023. According to the Hong Kong authorities, as of March, about 110,000 individuals have arrived through various talent admission schemes, approaching the number of foreign workers imported into Macau.
In April, Hong Kong’s secretary for labor and welfare, Chris Sun Yuk-han, stated in response to Legislative Council questions that the government will continue to attract foreign workers.
