Mainland Chinese tour groups will be welcomed back to Macao at the end of next month or in early November at the latest, after a lengthy ban induced by the pandemic.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng called a special briefing this morning to announce the decision. Visitors will also be able to apply for e-visas once more.
Residents of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces will be the first to benefit from the changed regulations along with the city of Shanghai.
Ho said that the move would boost Macao’s tourism industry, which has been in the doldrums since the beginning of the pandemic.
The 7+3 quarantine measure remains unchanged, despite the recent decision in Hong Kong to put an end to hotel quarantine. “Hong Kong’s decision has nothing to do with Macao,” said Ho. We will stick with the present policies because they are the ones that suit us.”
Macao needs 40,000 tourists per day to revitalise the economy. At the moment the city is receiving around 20,000 per day.
Ho added that the changes to pandemic measures were not discussed during video conference meetings with the authorities in Beijing, which concentrated on ways to recuperate Macao’s economy.
Ho said that regarding the period of nucleic acid tests to enter Zhuhai, Macao has been negotiating with the neighbouring government but needed to follow the rules established by the Central Government.
The video conference meeting yesterday was with the vice-premier Han Zheng who is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and head of the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macao Affairs. During the meeting, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng gave a report on the city’s current economic situation and other related work.
