Tourist Price Index up by 7pct in Q1

2014-4-16

From：Macau Daily Times

The Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the first quarter of 2014 has increased 7.35 percent from the same time last year. This increase is attributable to soaring hotel room rates during the Chinese Lunar New Year, higher charges for restaurant services and dearer prices for local food products.
According to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), the price index of “accommodation” increased significantly by 20.8 percent, while the price index of “food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco” and of “entertainment and cultural activities” increased by 5.63 percent and 5.4 percent respectively.
On the other hand, lower airfares and reduced prices of gold jewelry have driven down the respective price indexes of “transport and communications” and “miscellaneous goods” by 2.95 and 2.38 percent year-on-year.
Compared with the previous quarter, the TPI for Q1 rose by 1.24 percent, with the price index of “accommodation” up by 5.59 percent. However, the price index of “clothing & footwear” has dropped 8.74 percent.
Notable quarter-to-quarter increases were also observed in the price indexes of “entertainment & cultural activities” (up by 2.98 percent) and “food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco” (2.59 percent).
The average TPI for the last four quarters ending with the Q1 of 2014 increased by 6.68 percent from the previous corresponding period, with an increase in the price indexes of “accommodation” and “food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco” by 13.78 percent and 8.11 percent respectively.

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