CE: 20% of volume to recover for Hong Kong visitor numbers

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has told the parliament that, to return to pre-Covid levels, the city must recover 20% of its previous volume of Hong Kong visitors.

Last Friday, the head of the government took questions from lawmakers, including several about the development of tourism.

April 5 was the first time since 1999 that the proportion of Hong Kong arrivals surpassed that from mainland China.

Ho said the number of Hong Kong arrivals between Jan. 13 and March 31 this year reached 1.51 million, 80% of same period in 2019.

“It means that we still have 20% to recover,” Ho said.

The special benefits issued to Hong Kong visitors may be halted in the future. The policy refers to special enticements and the belief that, at the end of the day, market operations should return to pre-Covid levels.

The effort to attract more Hong Kong tourists has not yet been fully implemented because the two ferry companies are operating on restricted capacities due to an insufficient workforce.

Ho believes that when ferry services return to normal levels, Macau will see more Hong Kong visitors.

On attracting foreign visitors, Ho said Macau’s weakness is that it only has regional flights. However, marketing efforts have been initiated to promote Macau at the Hong Kong International Airport.

Buy-one-get-one-free promotions for air tickets will also be rolled out to attract foreign visitors to Macau via Hong Kong. Media familiarization tours will also be held involving press from Korea, Thailand and Malaysia.

He added that in the past three years of Covid-19 restrictions many aviation industry workers have departed from their original positions. As with the ferry services, this has prevented airlines from opening new routes.

Responding to a question from appointed lawmaker Cheung Kin Chung about local hotel capacities, Ho said the city needs more hotel accommodation options, a problem which had long been observed by members of the public and less wealthy travelers.

Nonetheless, it is the first time a head of the Macau government has pointed out that no tourists should be discriminated against, be they wealthy or unwealthy. In the past two decades, the city’s tourism industry has focused mostly on big spenders.

Ho said tourists in group tours usually do not want expensive top-notch accommodation, as with some individual tourists. Although the city has many luxury hotels, it lacks mid-range accommodation.

In addition, mainland governmental delegations are bound by mainland laws to stay in non-casino accommodation. Ho said there are only a handful of such hotels of “acceptable quality” for them to choose from.

He then suggested that hoteliers upgrade these mid-range, non-casino hotels to cater to group tours.

CE apologizes for Apr. 5 Zone A traffic standstill

Lawmaker Chan Chak Mo asked Ho about regular traffic jams at the connection bridge between New Urban Zone A and the main peninsula, particularly the massive traffic congestion on April 5 during the Ching Ming or “Tomb-sweeping” Festival.

Ho attributed the reason to the previously approved Macau Vehicles to Mainland scheme, drivers’ misplacement of vehicle identification chips and construction procedures.

He also commended his team’s effort in “frequent application” that saw the scheme approved “ahead of time.”

“There was no reason we put [the scheme] on hold when it was approved,” he defended.

Against this backdrop, roads in Zone A appear insufficient in number, he said.

He suggested drivers bound for mainland China on the scheme position their vehicle identification chips correctly to facilitate smoother immigration clearance.

For example, he pointed out, should the chip be positioned to overlap the mainland highway autopay chip, immigration clearance will be obstructed, as the Macao Customs sensors cannot distinguish between the two chips.

Moreover, slot pre-booking may be introduced to avoid peak periods.

Construction procedures have also led to severe traffic problems, Ho added. Many Zone A roads are still in the pipeline because underground pipe networks are being constructed.

Repeating earlier replies to lawmakers from the Transport Bureau, he said that future road networks – with the earliest date for new road opening set for next year – would help resolve prevalent congestion.

Ho made no comment on public criticism over the government’s lack of preparation in the past few years for the increase of traffic in the area.

Civil servant pay raise next year to be studied

Replying to questions from allies Pereira Coutinho and Che Sai Wang on salary increments for civil servants, Ho said the government was considering the feasibility. He said a balance must be struck between the adaptability of a recovering economy and rising commodity prices.

Ho said the government had always been open to raising salaries for civil servants, adding that it was not done because lawmakers expressed their demands.

He rejected Che’s suggestion to issue an extra month of salary to civil servants who had helped during the June 18 outbreak. After attributing the success to all people in Macau, he pointed to the law as not accommodating the additional salary payment.

On general salary levels, he believes with the economy recovering, the working population will see higher incomes.

Lowering unemployment rate in mind

Ho has pledged to be “attentive to the changes in the employment market” as the city’s unemployment rate stands at 4.1%.

Although the figure represents an improvement compared to last year’s (May-July 2022) 5.4%, a record high since 2008, according to the available data disclosed by the government, lawmakers have been calling for the government to attend to the numbers of currently unemployed local residents.

In the plenary session, Ho pledged that his government would be attentive to changes in the market and that in due time it would launch various support services, showing its commitment to helping the local population, as well as alleviating the pressure of the human resources problem and reducing the unemployment rate.