Secretary Lei urges business leaders to launch promo in May Golden Week

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong has called on business leaders to lead the sector in preparing for the May 1 Golden Week in launching strategic tourism products and promotions.

Speaking during an event hosted by the Macau Chinese Chamber of Commerce, he recalled that the economic situation in the first quarter of this year deteriorated markedly with the SAR taking measures to attract tourists to stimulate economic recovery.

From Sunday, the government is expecting the number of visitors coming into Macau to exceed 25,000 on individual days of the May Golden Week holiday. 

This comes as Guangdong eases the validity period for nucleic acid tests to 72 hours, which could further encourage visitors to travel to Macau. 

Meanwhile, Lei also admitted that the liquidity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been significantly reduced. 

However, he pledged that in the second half of the year, the SAR government will “spare no effort to continue to expand the source of tourists and do a good job in related work, because the source of tourists will solve the current economic difficulties.”

During his speech, Lei also reiterated that the government is working towards launching the next round of consumption vouchers, as well as measures to subsidize water and electricity bills for households and businesses. 

Meanwhile, president of the chamber Chui Sai Cheong has said that the consumption vouchers would bolster the domestic demand market and stabilize the market, which would boost economic confidence. 

He also mentioned that the SAR government and Beijing’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism are negotiating the resumption of the endorsement of tour groups which has long been postponed due to the pandemic.