Gov’t earmarks MOP180m for group tours
The government has reserved a budget of MOP 650 million to increase visitor numbers, of which MOP 180 million is for targeted group tours, including Mainland, Taiwan, and international visitors, Cheng Wai Tong, deputy director of the Macao Government Tourism Office said, as cited in a report issued by TDM.
The effect of the initiative will be first reviewed in March.
The rest of the budget will be spent on individual travel including cooperation with electronic business platforms, subsidies in aviation and international market and so on, stated Cheng.
According to the official, it has been one month since Macau relaxed its pandemic measures, and manpower in the aviation industry is still recovering. He said that the government had held discussions with Air Macau on increasing international flights to two to three flights per week, in order to allow international tourists to stay in Macau for a reasonable duration.
Concerning cooperation with Hong Kong, Cheng said that tourism-related departments and businesses will make exploratory trips to Macau when the two governments hold discussions as part of the Hong Kong-Macau joint tour to promote the two cities for the international tourism market.
China’s resumption of outbound group tours following the change to its Covid-19 policies will be a strong boost to the global tourism industry and a benefit for the world, especially for economies that are dependent on tourism.
On Monday, China resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries, including Thailand, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and New Zealand. Group tours between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong and Macau also resumed.
During the Spring Festival holiday from Jan. 21 to 27, China saw nearly 2.9 million cross-border trips, up 120.5%year on year, and 308 million domestic trips, up 23.1% and back to 88.6% of the 2019 level for the same period.
The World Tourism Organization forecast that international tourist arrivals could reach 80% to 95% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023 (versus 63% in 2022), despite lingering global headwinds.
Staff Reporter
