Covid-19 in China could dash Macau’s Labour Day holiday period

Wong Fai, president of the Macau Leisure Tourism Services Innovation Association, has warned that a new wave of Covid-19 cases in mainland China could affect arrivals for the holiday in May.

Macau.- The gaming and tourism industry continues to monitor the rise in cases of Covid-19 in mainland China, which are still holding back the sector’s economic recovery. However, it’s not looking good for the Labour Day break from April 30 to May 4.

Wong Fai, president of Macau Leisure Tourism Services Innovation Association, has told GGRAsia that hopes for the Labour Day holiday period “are going to be dashed” if Macau retains the requirement for visitors entering via the neighbouring province of Guangdong to hold a negative nucleic acid Covid-19 test certificate issued within 24 hours prior to arrival.

Wong Fai said: “We hope that the government could put in place targeted support measures for the smaller-scale businesses. For the long term, we also hope that the government would continue to negotiate with the mainland for easing our travel conditions further.”

Last year 165,500 tourists came to Macau during the Labour Day holiday period. The first day was the peak, with 44,000 arrivals.

China remains the only country with a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau.