From 28th June mainland Chinese from certain parts of the country—Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen—will be able to travel to Taiwan independently rather than as part of a tour group.
But Andy Wu, of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, told Macau’s local television channel TDM he doesn’t believe China’s extension of its Individual Visit Scheme (IVS)—a scheme that already covers Macau—will take mainland gamblers and tourists away from Macau.
Since direct flights were allowed between the People’s Republic and Taiwan in July 2008 as part of the thawing in cross-straits relations, the number of Taiwanese air passengers using Macau as a transit point has fallen dramatically. Previously inward and outward flights to Taiwan had to connect in Macau or Hong Kong as a legacy of the political tensions dating back to the communist victory on the mainland in 1949.
Mr Wu says it’s unlikely the IVS programme’s extension will similarly shrink the market for Taiwanese gamblers and holidaymakers coming specifically to Macau.
“It could be a five day trip to Taiwan or Singapore [from China]. But in [inbound to] Hong Kong and Macau, people can come for a leisurely two to three days or over the weekend. I believe mainlanders having access to Taiwan will not affect Macau much,” says Mr Wu.
He adds however that service standards in Macau have been suffering. Almost every available local resident has been sucked into the jobs market following the expansion of the gaming and hotel industries. Not all of them have the same high standard of training and motivation that such service industries require suggests Mr Wu.
“In recent years, the quality of service has dropped. Currently Macau is considered one of the high-consumption tourist destinations so I believe good quality service is a must, so that visitors are left satisfied and get their value for money,” he states.
