The resumption of the electronically-issued permits for travel to Macau (e-visas) under the individual travel scheme, as well as of tour groups from the mainland to Macau, will boost the volume of mainland visitors and, with it, the local economy, Chief Executive (CE), Ho Iat Seng said on the sidelines of the National Day reception.
Ho’s comments were made following last week’s announcement by the central government authorities of the resumption of these visas and of a simplified immigration process for tour groups to Macau announced one week earlier.
“No outbound tour groups had been organized from the mainland for nearly three years,” the CE said, noting that Macau would be the first destination outside the mainland to receive mainland tour groups as early as late this month or early November.
At the current stage of resumption of tour groups to Macau, only people from the so-called “four provinces and one city” group, that is, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces, as well as Shanghai municipality, will be eligible.
According to Ho, the coverage will be expanded in phases, taking into account epidemic conditions on the mainland, and adherence to the “dynamic zero-Covid-19” policy, he noted, adding that government is in talks with other provinces and cities on the matter.
Addressing questions related to the validity periods for nucleic acid testing (NAT) certificates for cross-border travel between the mainland and Macau, Ho said the local government had been trying to negotiate with the mainland authorities to relax these requirements, although there is so far no news on the matter.
Regarding measures to ease travel arrangements for those wishing to travel to Macau via Hong Kong, the CE again stressed the need for Macau to act in line with the mainland’s anti-pandemic measures: in other words, that the SAR’s policy would depend on the mainland’s decision.
The CE noted that the priority will be to reduce the number of days of required quarantine and that the full resumption of travel between Macau and Hong Kong would come at a later stage.
At present, approximately 100 Hong Kong residents are arriving in Macau per day and undergoing quarantine on arrival, while Macau residents can travel to Hong Kong without the need for quarantine, using a quarantine exemption plan.
Four land plots to be auctioned for housing
In other remarks, Ho said that the government has a plan to make four land plots available for private housing development. These plots will be granted to developers via public auction.
Geological surveys and relevant preparation had been completed on these land plots and an announcement is expected later this month.
The CE also explained that there will be a gap of three to four years from the time the parcels of land are auctioned until the housing units can be placed on the market, noting that the supply will be delivered on time.
