The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, today said the resumption of electronically-issued permits for travel to Macao under the facilitated individual travel scheme, as well as of tour groups from mainland China to Macao, would boost the volume of mainland visitors to the city. Growth in tourist numbers would help improve employment conditions in various sectors, he added.
Mr Ho made the remarks on the sidelines of the National Day reception held by the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
The Central Government announced on 23 September the preferential initiatives in support of Macao’s economic recovery, said Mr Ho. In recent days, Macao had seen an increasing number of tourists. Friday (30 September) saw over 30,000 tourists.
No outbound tour groups had been organised from the mainland for nearly three years, noted Mr Ho. Macao would be the first destination outside the mainland to receive tour groups from there. Relevant work was in progress, with the expectation that in late October or early November such tour business could be implemented, said Mr Ho.
At current stage of resumption of tour groups to Macao, only people from the so-called “four provinces and one city” group, i.e. Guangdong Province, Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Fujian Province and Shanghai Municipality, would be eligible to take part.
Coverage would be expanded in phases, taking into account epidemic conditions on the mainland, and adherence to the “dynamic zero-COVID-19” policy. The MSAR Government was working closely with other provinces and cities on the topic, Mr Ho said.
The Chief Executive also talked about issues relating to the validity periods for nucleic-acid testing certificates for cross-boundary travel between the mainland and Macao. Mr Ho said the MSAR Government had been striving, in consultation with the mainland authorities, to relax such requirements. Nonetheless, it was necessary to heighten vigilance – in terms of epidemic prevention and control – in the peak travel period during the National Day holiday season.
Regarding measures to ease travel arrangements for those coming via Hong Kong, Mr Ho said Macao had to be in line with the mainland’s anti-epidemic measures. Should the mainland relax its own conditions for arrivals via Hong Kong or reduce the number of days in quarantine that were required for those inbound to the mainland, there would then in likelihood be a resumption of more convenient travel arrangements between Macao and Hong Kong.
At present, approximately 100 Hong Kong residents a day were coming to Macao and undergoing quarantine on arrival. Macao residents were able to travel to Hong Kong without the need for quarantine.
In other remarks, Mr Ho said that the MSAR Government planned to make available four plots of land for private development, to be granted via public auction. Geological surveys and relevant preparation had been completed. It was expected an announcement relating to the matter would be made this month by the Urban Planning Committee. Mr Ho added that from the time the auction took place, three to four years would elapse before any housing units linked to those plots could be put on the market. It was anticipated however that such housing stock would meet the needs of the market as it recovered from the pandemic, added Mr Ho.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Lei Wai Nong, also spoke on the sidelines of the National Day reception. He stated tourism was an important industry for Macao’s economy, adding there would be improvement in the tourism sector and local employment following the beneficial measures announced by the Central Government regarding resumption of electronically-issued permits under the facilitated individual travel scheme, as well as of tour groups.
Macao’s economy had been affected by the “18 June outbreak”, noted Mr Lei, with the unemployment rate having risen to 5.5 percent. The MSAR Government had stepped up its job-matching work. Across the nine months from January to September, an aggregate of 4,800 jobseekers had been successful in finding a new job with assistance from the MSAR Government’s job-matching service, said Mr Lei.
The MSAR Government would spare no effort in working to support the preferential tourism measures of the Central Government, said Mr Lei. The MSAR Government would step up promotional efforts in mainland provinces and cities, and make intensive preparations for welcoming more tourists to Macao, he added.