Macau Golden Week visitors ahead of expectations, UBS says

UBS Securities says arrivals to Macau from the Chinese mainland during the annual Golden Week holidays grew 13.9 percent year-on-year, despite earlier fears of a weak reading due to the sluggish Chinese economy and spillover effect from political unrest in Hong Kong.
At the same time non-mainland visitor arrivals also grew strongly, up 16.5 percent, with 34 percent growth over Oct. 1st and 2nd which were also Hong Kong public holidays.
UBS said arrivals from Hong Kong residents also picked up from year to date trends in early October, which was "surprising to us given the recent events in Hong Kong."
The analysts concluded that the strong headcount was a healthy sign "for base and grind mass segments," although the level of spend of the high end VIP and premium mass segments remain more significant to the industry's gross gaming revenue.