Following the resumption of group tourism visas approved in November last year, the first mainland tour groups will arrive in Macau today.
These will be the first mainland tour groups to enter Macau since the first outbreak of the pandemic.
The resumption of the tour groups comes as central authorities announced the full reinstatement of mutual visits between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau as well as further easing the need for nucleic acid and rapid antigen tests for border crossings.
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said in a press conference last Friday that the resumption of this form of travel tourism is expected to be a great advantage for the revival of tourism in Macau.
At the same time, the MGTO announced the “My Treat for You, Joyful Macao Tour” Subsidy Scheme, dedicated to the mainland tourist market.
A total of 88 travel agencies have been selected for participation in the scheme. Since last Friday, agencies were able to register and input information for their tour groups in the system.
Under the system, each participant from a tour group originating in the Guangdong province will be granted a subsidy of 150 patacas for a one-night stay and 300 patacas for staying two or more nights in Macau.
If the tour group (which needs at least 10 people) originates outside the Guangdong province, the subsidy increases to 250 patacas for one night and 400 patacas for two or more nights.
The subsidy aims to attract visitors, especially those from other regions in China, to visit Macau and stay for a longer period to revive different sectors of the economy.
The government is also expecting to give away up to 120,000 free air-tickets later this year.
The industry is expecting mainland tour groups will deliver an additional daily average of around 10,000 visitors, according to a member of the Macau Travel Industry Council, Andy Wu, who was speaking to the Chinese channel of TDM Radio.
Wu also said several Guangdong tour groups have already scheduled trips to Macau as early as this week.
