Macau business travel expected to rebound: Beijing

The business travel of both Macau and Hong Kong has shown signs of recovery, Xie Jinying, director-general of the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China (MCT) confirmed yesterday at a plenary meeting held by CYTS Alliance.
In his opening speech, Xie stressed that the global tourist number and overall tourism receipts in 2021 are expected to hit around 60% to 80% of 2019’s pre-pandemic levels.
Among all regions, the Asia Pacific is forecast to be the fastest-growing region when it comes to tourism revival. This, he said, will create a boon to boost the business travel for both Hong Kong and Macau.
“The global tourism industry will soon enter a new phase with greater room for development, but, it will also be faced with a greater demand for quality tourism products [requested by travelres],” Xie said.
He urged tourism practitioners to grasp the opportunities from within and forge new quality products in the future.
Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes also attended the event.
Fernandes pledged that the MGTO will double down on attracting mainland holidaymakers to visit Macau through a set of channels.
One of the approaches includes hosting a Macau-themed tourism promotional week in six mainland cities before the Golden Week Holiday in May, which she believes can lay a solid foundation for the upcoming tourism rebound.
Another tactic will be accelerating the implementation of the “Tourism+” concept, to foster the collaboration between tourism and other sectors.
According to a key official from Zhuhai, the plan of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone will be promulgated soon. The Plan will lay down the direction for both Macau and Hengqin in Zhuhai to co-develop a world-class tourism and leisure island.
According to the official data, Macau registered a total of 99,568 visitor arrivals, with an average daily volume of almost 20,000 visitors, during the five-day holidays of Easter and Ching Ming Festival from April 2 to 6.
Fernandes said earlier that she is eyeing the Golden Week in May to further advance the city’s arrival number.