Legislative Assembly | Macau sets aside billions to transform day visitors into overnight tourists

The government of Macau has reserved 3.19 billion patacas ($400 million) for a project that will aim to turn single-day travelers into overnight visitors.
As overnight visitors spend on average considerably more than single-day travelers, the government hopes the transformation will boost aggregate tourism revenue even before the number of visitors recovers to pre-coronavirus levels.
Yesterday, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong brought the amendment of the 2020 budget to the Legislative Assembly plenary meeting. The amendment is related to the 10 billion pataca economy relief fund, which is part of the total 13.6 billion pataca increase in the 2020 budget.
The 10 billion pataca fund covers six programs encompassing a salary subsidy (3.84 billion patacas), freelancer subsidy (95.41 million patacas), business subsidy (2.42 billion patacas), freelancer bank loan interest subsidy (109 million patacas), paid training program (316 million patacas), and reserve fund (3.19 billion patacas).
The possibility of a third round of economic relief, and the reasons for entrusting the Macao Foundation to distribute the 10 billion patacas, were among the main topics of lawmakers’ questions yesterday.
Some lawmakers, including Sulu Sou, Agnes Lam, and Wu Chou Kit, were concerned about those who were not covered by the existing government financial support measures, the purposes of the reserve fund, and how the government plans to prevent employers from taking advantage of the salary subsidies, for instance by laying off workers after receiving the money.
According to Secretary Lei Wai Nong’s reply, the 3.19 billion patacas will be used to propel the local tourism industry in the post-Covid-19 environment.
The Macau SAR government wants to attract mainland visitors as the travel conditions in China improve. However, other countries in the region will also look to Chinese travelers to help their economies recover and may plan similar strategies of their own. Some of the government’s funding will be used to ensure a steady flow of visitors returns to Macau in the wake of increased competition.
Moreover, the government believes revenue from tourism activities can be significantly expanded if Macau is able to transform the mainland’s single-day travelers into overnight visitors.
“If a tourist leaves Macau on the same day they arrived, they end up spending 800 patacas. But if they stay for one night, they spend 2,600 patacas. Mainland tourists from free travel scheme cities spend 10% more when they stay for one night,” said Lei.
The reserve fund is not only for tourism preparation, but also for other economic opportunities.
Some sectors, such as the fishery industry, are also eligible for the subsidies as long they file a completed tax return. After the government announced salary and business subsidies, more companies completed and filed a tax return, according to the Secretary.
“If they are already prepared to disappear with the money, we will not give it to them,” said Lei, indicating that these government subsidies clearly make a distinction between employees and employers, meaning that employers will be unable to take advantage of the financial support.
Lei highlighted that excise duty registration is the fundamental element for the approval of each subsidy. The SAR government will also include more sectors in paid training programs, such as the fishery sector. The SAR government is currently studying the feasibility of granting fishermen these subsidies.
Macau has nearly 80,000 companies, but, at this time, the government has determined that only around half of these companies are eligible for the subsidies. This is because the government has disqualified so-called “zombie companies” which have no income, no offices, and no associated costs.