The return of group tours from mainland China can be expected as soon as late October, Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, told a press conference over the weekend.
Also reinstated is the digital travel endorsement application.
Ho added the tours will restart gradually from the provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian and the municipality of Shanghai, with Guangdong being the frontier.
He was optimistic about attracting about 40,000 visitors to town daily after group tours resume.
To ensure full compliance with the Covid-zero policy, a circuit breaker and resumption mechanism will be initiated as group tours resume.
Ho emphasized that application procedures for travel endorsement differ between provinces, but the local government will continue negotiating with Beijing to further expand eligibility. The aim is to reinstate pre-Covid procedures across the country.
Justifying the resumption in only four provinces and one municipality, Ho said these locations have larger populations and stronger spending power, in addition to their control over the spread of Covid-19.
He hoped the policy adjustment would double the daily tourist arrival figures from the current 20,000, believing this will lead to a stable revival.
Elaborating on the circuit breaker and the resumption mechanism, Ho said that whenever Macau or the five areas has a “severe outbreak” of Covid-19, the circuit breaker will be automatically triggered and group tours from affected mainland jurisdictions will be suspended.
However, the resumption of tours can be reactivated automatically when the condition stabilizes, usually determined by several days without new cases. Ho said about a month will be needed for preparations because negotiations and discussions are still required.
“Macau must be aligned with mainland China on Covid-19 control and prevention policies,” Ho emphasized.
Asked about the probability of further extending SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test (NAT) validity for Macau-Zhuhai travel, Ho said negotiations with Zhuhai had been ongoing, but the constantly unstable Covid-19 conditions across the country had hindered the realization of the extension.
Ho disagreed with the suggestion that expecting 40,000 arrivals daily is too optimistic. He said that last year, the city had sometimes had over 30,000 arrivals per day, noting that grouped tours and electronic travel endorsement applications were still suspended.
At the same press conference, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, said the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) had been releasing marketing campaigns to attract tourists to Macau.
He said the MGTO had already commenced planning preparations for attracting and receiving grouped tours with three local tourism associations.
In addition, he said, the MGTO has been promoting the city online in order to attract tourists. With new policies about to kick in, the bureau will conduct further offline promotions about the city in mainland China. He also reminded the local tourism industry to prepare well to provide quality services to incoming groups of tourists.
