The director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, said Monday that she hoped the latest extension of the validity period of negative COVID-19 tests from 48 to 72 hours for arrivals from Guangdong Province will convince more Chinese tourists to visit during the upcoming Labour Day holiday weekend.
But local business owners aren’t so sure.
Speaking with media at the launch of the Light Up Macao Drone Gala 2022, Senna Fernandes said she hoped the eased restrictions would see a further increase in visitor arrivals, although the MGTO had not yet updated its forecasts. She had previously predicted daily arrivals could reach 25,000.
Senna Fernandes also stated Monday that the occupancy rate of Macau’s hotels could reach 60% during the holiday period, having “hovered around 40%” in recent months.
However, the owner of a souvenir shop located near the Ruins of St Paul told IAG that he doesn’t believe extending the validity period of tests to 72 hours would encourage more visitors to come to Macau and “does not have high expectations.” The Chinese tourism policy is too strict, he said, and many mainland Chinese think Macau is like Hong Kong, requiring quarantine upon return. The shop owner said he will therefore not prepare special stock for Labour Day.
Visitor numbers were still sparse around the usually popular tourist spot on Monday, with a traveler from Guangzhou who stopped to speak with IAG stating it was still difficult to visit Macau from the mainland because the COVID-19 test rules were constantly changing. She added that, because there is very little publicity for Macau tourism in China, few people know whether or not Macau is safe. But the traveler said she will continue to visit Macau because hotel prices are cheaper than they were before the pandemic.
