Guangdong eases restrictions for outbound travellers

Guangdong province has announced that travel agencies have been allowed to resume sales of flights to other Chinese provinces and Macau.

Macau.- Authorities in Guangdong have eased travel-related limitations for outbound travellers amid a decline in the number of Chinese destinations deemed high-risk for Covid-19. Travel agencies may resume sales of flight plus hotel packages, and tour packages for travel to other provinces, including Macau. 

The measure doesn’t include travel to ‘mid’ or ‘high-risk’ areas.

Meanwhile, the operator of Zhuhai Airport has said passengers are no longer required to show a Covid-19 negative test.

A few days ago, authorities in Macau also announced a relaxation in border entry requirements for people coming from Guangdong. The government also allowed an extension for the validity of negative Covid-19 tests for visitors from Guangdong from 48 hours to seven days. 

Authorities expect to continue easing border restrictions as the number of flights rises in the upcoming weeks ahead of October’s Golden Week.

Macao Government Tourism Office director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes predicted Macau could receive 25,000 visitors per day during the October Golden Week. Mainland China continues to be the only country to have a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau. 

According to local media reports, the number of buses crossing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is set to double during the following days.

The bus is the only transport link between the two cities as the ferry services were suspended last February.

In June, Alvis Lo lek Long, Macau Health Bureau director, had said that a travel bubble between Hong Kong and Macau could be contemplated once Hong Kong passes 28 days without a local Covid-19 case. However, the plan was delayed after Hong Kong detected local Covid-19 cases.