Macau expects 40,000 daily visitors for Chinese New Year

The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) expects to surpass the figure registered last year that was significantly down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Macau.- The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is confident the Chinese New Year Golden Week will be better than the year before.

Macao Government Tourism Office director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes told Chinese Radio Ou Mun Tin Toi that authorities expect 40,000 visitors daily and revealed the government is planning several large-scale events.

This year the Chinese New Year period will be between February 1 and February 3. 

Last November, the MGTO said the city could receive up to 10 million visitors in 2022 if Macau finally resumes the e-visa programme with China and reopens borders with Hong Kong.

Lei Wai Nong, Secretary for Economy and Finance, has predicted that GGR for 2022 will be MOP130bn (US$16.2bn), half that seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said it would be crucial to ease travel restrictions with Hong Kong and mainland China if these numbers are to be achieved.

Hong Kong-China travel bubble delayed due to Omicron cases

The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, said that an outbreak of Omicron variant Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong may hinder the city’s chances of reaching a quarantine-free travel arrangement with mainland China.

Authorities in China had previously announced the country was going to open its borders for travellers from Hong Kong from December 19 while Elsie Ao Ieong U, Macau’s secretary for social affairs and culture, had said the travel bubble was going to apply only for those who had been fully vaccinated.

The reopening of the border between Hong Kong and Macau was highly expected as Hong Kong has historically accounted for 15 per cent to 20 per cent of Macau’s total gaming revenue.

Mainland China continues to be the only country to have a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau.