Macau Economy

Macau's economy is based largely on tourism, including gambling, and textile and garment manufacturing, banking and other financial services. The opening of the formerly monopolized gambling sector in 2002 has led to significant new investment in casinos, hotels, and related facilities. The recent growth in gambling and tourism has been driven primarily by mainland Chinese and tourists from Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese tourists account for about 55% of all tourist arrivals to Macau.

Macau depends on China for most of its food, fresh water, and energy imports. The European Union and Hong Kong are the main suppliers of raw materials and capital goods. In the last few years much of Macau's manufacturing operations (mainly textiles and garments) have moved across the border to mainland China. Mainland competition, along with the 2005 end of Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) quotas, which had provided a near guarantee of export markets, are slowly spelling the end of Macau's low-end mass production of textiles; the bulk of the SAR's merchandise export earnings. For future growth, Macau is becoming a regional center for gaming, tourism, conference and group travel.

Special Touring Regions: