In a bid to attract foreign visitors to Macao, the local government has proposed a new Tourism Sources Expansion Package made up of no less than 250,000 freebies and discounts, the Macau Daily Times reports.
Lei Wai Nong, the finance secretary, said at a Legislative Assembly session on Wednesday, that eligible travellers would be offered flight tickets, hotel rooms, and discounts on dining and entertainment.
He said that the campaign would target visitors from outside of Greater China, in line with the government’s goal of welcoming at least two million foreigners to the SAR in 2024. Some 235 million patacas have been earmarked for increasing next year’s number of international arrivals, subject to legislative approval.
[See more: This is how many foreign passport holders came to Macao in the first five months of 2023]
At the same session, the director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, confirmed that visitors arriving via Hong Kong would also be eligible for gifts.
She clarified that the scheme would extend beyond the luxury end of the travel market. Encouraging tourists to visit Macao’s lesser-known neighbourhoods, and new tourism products such as boat trips, would be included, she said.
Fernandes said that Macao was currently averaging around 1,000 foreign visitors per day, about 70 percent of its pre-pandemic numbers.
