Macau sets sights on Greater Bay Area for expansion

Macau is using the Great Bay Area’s aircraft networks to promote joint-tourism products with cities in the GBA.

Macau.- Authorities in Macau are planning to boost tourism development in the Greater Bay Area following the Coronavirus pandemic.

Macau is using the Great Bay Area’s aircraft networks to promote joint-tourism products with cities in the GBA.

The government expects travel styles and trends to significantly change around the world following the pandemic, and also sees a need to review its civil aviation planning for long-term development.

Other initiatives set to take place post-pandemic include the annual “Explore the Light” festival which will be held in September 2020, three months earlier than usual.

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ao Ieong U, spoke at the Legislative Assembly early this week and highlighted the SARs reliance on visitors from mainland China and flights in and out of Hong Kong.

She warned that current restrictions in place, such as border closures and limits in visas being issued, could become the “new normal” and if so, Macaus’s tourism and casino sectors could be hard hit.

Macau Director of Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, has also raised similar concerns.

“Macau recorded double-digit growth of international visitors in the first half of 2019. However, international visitors significantly dropped in the second half of last year, influenced by the situation in Hong Kong.

“We have to review our current civil aviation network to expand our international markets, which is a long-term goal for us,” she added.

The government has also announced plans to hold international sporting events every month in order to promote “sports tourism” in Macau.