SMEs still struggling despite record tourist spending

Macau’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still struggling despite record tourist spending, lawmakers said, calling for more precise government support to reach community retailers. Lawmakers, presenting their pre-agenda items at a plenary meeting yesterday, called for a new round of consumption incentives to retain local spending power, with legislator Leong Sun Iok pointing out that while non-gaming tourist spending rose 17.4% year-on-year in the first half of the year, many SMEs still reported sluggish trade, as tourists tend to concentrate their spending at integrated resorts, leaving community retailers largely bypassed. He…