Posted on: September 21, 2025, 09:40h.
Last updated on: September 21, 2025, 09:40h.
- Macau’s economy, unlike China’s, is thriving
- Gaming is rebounding, and visitation is at record levels
- Unemployment is low, and GDP is high
The economy in Macau is booming, with gross domestic product climbing more than 5% in the second quarter of 2025. Visitation is at an all-time high, and casino gaming revenue, the heartbeat of the Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR), is nearing its return to pre-COVID-19 conditions.
July and August set new gross gaming revenue (GGR) post-COVID highs. Casino gamblers generated net win for the six gaming operators of $2.76 billion in July and $2.77 billion in August.
Year to date, Macau casino revenue is up 7.2% on the prior year to $20.36 billion. That is more than 82% of the amount of gaming money the six casinos won in 2019 through August.
Gaming analysts and brokerages are amending their full-year GGR outlook positively, as the city’s casinos have successfully managed to turn their attention away from the VIP high roller to the mass and premium mass markets, as well as the leisure and business travel sectors.
Visitation Hits Record
Macau casinos can no longer rely on high rollers to keep their properties afloat. VIP junket groups are largely no more, with the travel organizers seeking Asian gaming markets not under China’s control.
Macau, which remains the world’s richest gaming market in terms of casino revenue, has invested many billions of dollars in nongaming amenities. Most notable has been the region’s quick embrace of K-pop, with its resorts’ many large theaters hosting prominent acts and events, including this weekend’s Fact Music Awards at the government’s newly opened Outdoor Performance Venue.
The Macau Statistics and Census Bureau reports that August visitation reached a record 4,219,034 people. An 18.4% year-over-year rise, last month brought year-to-date visitation to almost 26.7 million visitors, a 15% surge from 2024.
Economic Data Points
By most critical data points, Macau’s economy is strong. Inflation in July was just 0.12%, and the city’s unemployment rate for its nearly 686K residents stands at just 2.6%.
The median monthly income is up to $2,222, almost $100 higher than in December 2019. Hotel occupancy rate in July was 91%, on par with pre-COVID levels.
While China’s economy has failed to stimulate a sustained post-pandemic recovery, with factory and mining output decelerating in August, it’s a different story in Macau.
Amid the global health scare, Macau announced a diversification plan to reduce its reliance on casino gambling, which had accounted for more than 80 cents of every tax dollar the local SAR government had received. Macau has invested in integrated tourism, or special events, including large-scale business gatherings and conventions, plus so-called “health tourism.”
Macau has also successfully integrated its economy with the Greater Bay Area, with the government investing in initiatives to attract companies invested in the technology and trade industries. Macau has also established a free trade zone with neighboring Hengqin Island, where land is more available for the city’s ongoing economic ambitions.
Macau is more accessible than ever before, too. A record number of Chinese mainland cities are eligible for Individual Visit Scheme visas, which allow people to travel in and out of Hong Kong and/or Macau not in a group. Macau and Hong Kong, since 2018, have also been connected by the 34-mile Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
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