People wearing protective masks walk in front of the Casino Lisboa, operated by SJM Holdings Ltd, at night in Macau, China, on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (BILLY H.C. KWOK / BLOOMBERG)

Macao’s declines in gaming revenue narrowed in October, after plunging at least 90 percent for six straight months, in a sign that the Chinese mainland’s relaxation of travel and visa curbs is starting to attract mainland visitors.

Gross gaming revenue fell 72.5 percent to 7.27 billion patacas (US$910 million) in October from a year earlier, according to data from the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau. That was better than the median analyst estimate for a 74 percent drop.

Revenue in the 10 months through October has fallen 81.4 percent to 45.9 billion patacas, according to the data

Revenue in the 10 months through October has fallen 81.4 percent to 45.9 billion patacas, according to the data.

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Mainland visitor arrivals during Golden Week in early October were down 84 percent from a year earlier. However, casino players are starting to return in volume as a visa backlog clears.

“Toward the end of October, the number of visitors increased, but it’s still far away from our normal level,” said Joe Liu, director of the special administrative region’s largest e-payment company Macau Pass SA, which is accepted in more than 18,000 locations including restaurants and retail outlets. But he said the visitors returning first are the high-spending customers who don’t hold back. “They shop and eat crazily.”

Analysts say the key to a continued recovery will be a streamlining of the visa-issuance process and virus-testing requirements, which currently hinder mainland tourists from visiting Macao.

READ MORE: Mainland resumes issuing Macao visitor permits for all provinces