Sector rep hopes for 30,000 tourists daily during Golden Week

Given the recent increase in tourism, Macau might see an average of 30,000 tourists per day during the October 1 holidays, the president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, Andy Wu, said.

Dubbed the Golden Week, the seven-day holiday is a major event in mainland China, with the other being the May 1 holiday, which also lasts seven days. Before the Covid 19 pandemic, the long holiday usually equated to increased domestic travel for mainland residents, in addition to international travel.

On the other hand, data from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has revealed 23,000 visitors entered Macau on September 16, the highest number since June 18, the first day of the most recent Covid-19 outbreak.

Speaking to local Chinese media, Macao Daily News, Wu said the recovery from this year’s outbreak was slower than last year. He said that, after the June 18 outbreak, it had taken about 40 days for visitor numbers to reach 20,000 in a single day. Compared with the several outbreaks last year, this recovery took much longer, as last year it took about two weeks after each outbreak to reach the same level.

The main reason, he believes, is the short SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test (NAT) result validity. Currently, travelers between Macau and mainland China need to bear NAT results issued within 24 hours of travel. Wu recalled the shortest validity period was 48 hours last year.

Wu retains his optimism though, because he has recently seen Guangdong residents more confident in visiting Macau. He believes it was due to smooth information channels between the local and the provincial governments. Moreover, the local government’s attempt to bring back the National Day Fireworks Gala will be appealing to mainland residents.