Macau welcomes expansion of Chinese visa programme

Xi’an City in Shaanxi Province and Qingdao City in Shandong Province will be added to the individual visa program.

Macau.- Macau’s chief executive, Ho Iat Seng, has thanked China’s central government for its decision to expand the individual visa programme to include Xi’an City in Shaanxi Province and Qingdao City in Shandong Province. Announced by the National Immigration Service, the change is set to commence on March 6.

The integration of Xi’an and Qingdao is expected to facilitate easier travel for residents of these cities to Macau and Hong Kong, potentially boosting tourism.

Ho Iat Seng affirmed the Macau Government’s commitment to further developing tourist resources and hospitality capacity in collaboration with relevant sectors. Efforts will focus on enhancing border entry and exit measures, customs clearance and transit facilities.

The individual visa policy was introduced in 2003. Macau registered 28m visitor arrivals in 2023, with a daily average of circa 77,000 tourists. This figure was equivalent to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

See also: Macau: MGTO targets 33m visitors in 2024