The city is bustling: touristic places are filled with visitors, traffic jams occupy the central district, and long queues are being observed at taxi stands as the city drops its strict Covid restrictions.
These are the most visible signs of China’s easing of the border restrictions that were imposed almost three years ago.
The city’s busy streets and crowds indicate that business has returned to normal – a long awaited day of local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
By midnight yesterday, transportation to and from Hong Kong and Macau had resumed, with the Golden Bus resuming its 24-hours operations.
Also, after nearly three years of the suspension of ferry services, these ferries have finally set sail on a limited schedule.
First ferry at 80% capacity
The first ferry in nearly three years departed Hong Kong downtown for Macau yesterday at 80% capacity, Hong Kong media has reported.
Ferry services between Macau and Hong Kong downtown were abruptly suspended by the Hong Kong government on February 4, 2020 to control the spread of Covid-19.
Amid the reopening of the ferry terminal in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan, TurboJET and Cotai Water Jet, the two operators of the services, resumed their services yesterday with six to eight daily departures from the two cities.
During the early phase of resumption, the two operators will only provide daytime services.
The first service from Hong Kong by Cotai Water Jet departed at 9:30 a.m., which was 80% full.
A Hong Kong resident, surnamed Lai, said that over the past three years when Covid-19 restrictions were in place, he had not visited Macau even once. He chose to visit yesterday because he managed to secure a ticket. His main purpose of visiting Macau was for leisure, such as visiting friends and enjoying entertainment.
He added that many Hong Kong residents are happy about the implementation of border normalization.
A prospective traveler, surnamed Hui, checked out the crowd at the terminal yesterday as he intended to visit Macau this Wednesday. He was expecting to spend two to three days in Macau.
The Times has observed that yesterday afternoon the Taipa Ferry Terminal was filled with passengers heading back to Hong Kong, while those arriving from the neighboring city in the late afternoon were mostly individual travelers.
“I’m here to visit family members that I haven’t seen for nearly three years,” said one passenger.
“The ferry is more convenient for me as I’m close to the city center. I’m here for leisure and will only stay for a night,” said another.
Bustling City
The scenario in the city center was comparable to pre-pandemic times, with tourists filling in the way leading to the Ruins of St. Paul.
Several shops were filled with tourists seen with luggage and bags from the traditional bakery stores, while many flocked to the sport stores.
Pharmacies also seemed busy, with tourists appearing to be purchasing flu medicines.
By 9 p.m. yesterday, a total of 37,975 tourists visited the city, with the majority entering through the Border Gate.
Starting yesterday, the SAR has further eased travel restrictions on inbound visitors.
No nucleic acid test results for Covid-19 are required for visitors entering Macau from the mainland, China’s Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region, the center said.
Those entering Macau from other countries and regions will need to present negative nucleic acid test results effective within 48 hours upon boarding flights or ships heading for Macau. No prior approval will be needed for foreigners to enter Macau.
The Macao International Airport will resume flight transfer services. No compulsory health declarations or health management will be required upon or after entering Macau, which is boosting demand for travel.
Eyes on HK tourists
The local tourism office is pinning its hopes on Hong Kong tourists, anticipating tourists from the neighboring region to reach 60% to 80% of pre-pandemic figures, which is the ideal.
Cheng Wai Tong, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, recalled that in 2019, the average number of tourists from Hong Kong were approximately 20,000 in number.
With the abandoning of restrictions and reopening of the city as it removes its zero-Covid policy, the current hotel room rate is about 30% to 50%, and is expected to reach over 50% in the near future.
Speaking to local press, Cheng affirmed that the bureau will also keep an eye on hotel room rates and ensure they are reasonable.
During the pandemic, hotel room rates dropped and are currently still slightly lower than before the pandemic.
World raises bar on entrants from China
Several European countries have decided to implement stricter measures on entrants from China.
Passengers from China are required to present pre-departure negative Covid-19 tests for flights to Portugal.
The Netherlands will impose the same requirement from tomorrow citing EU recommendations. It will also require all passengers to China to wear a mask for the entire flight.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain have also implemented similar measures.
Meanwhile, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium discouraged their citizens from visiting China, citing the current pressure faced by Chinese hospitals as the reason.
The EU had earlier recommended stricter measures on entrants from China due to Covid-19 concerns. Lynzy Valles &Anthony Lam
