Macau tourism sector starts to recover after a slump in visitor numbers

Macau’s Public Security Police reported 2,800 tourist arrivals on Monday, up 49.2 per cent when compared to the previous day.

Macau.- After a slump due to Covid-19 cases in the city in the first week of August, tourism is slowly recovering, with 2,800 arrivals on Monday.

Macau’s Public Security Police reported a decline in visitor numbers after the government of Macau reported four local Covid-19 cases and Macau’s health official urged people to avoid non-essential travel. The next day, the daily tally of visitor numbers plummeted by 86.1 per cent to 1,800.

Macau carried out mass testing for Covid-19 in which 716,251 people were tested, all of them returning negative results.

Authorities recently announced an extension for the validity of negative Covid-19 tests for visitors from Guangdong province to 48 hours. The measure covers direct inbound and outbound land trips.

Andy Wu Keng Kuong, president of Macau Travel Industry Council, said the city expects an average hotel occupancy rate of less than 50 per cent for August.

He said: “We hope that the local Covid-19 situation can be controlled within 14 days so that hospitality businesses here can gradually pick up starting from late August.”