The Deputy Director of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Ricky Hoi, said Thursday that Macau’s new “5+3” quarantine policy is not very attractive to overseas visitors, but efforts have been made to target overseas visitors, especially those from Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
On 12 November, Macau changed its quarantine policy for anyone entering Macau other than from mainland China, with the new requirement involving five days in hotel quarantine plus three days of home isolation. However, the policy has been described by some as “8+0” given that the three days of home isolation are under Macau’s “red health code”, meaning individuals are not allowed to leave the home.
Hoi said Thursday that “5+3” was not attractive to overseas visitors, “but the MGTO has also deployed promotional efforts targeting overseas visitors, especially Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, to be launched after the epidemic is relaxed.”
The development of overseas visitors is a key plan for the future development of Macau’s tourism industry and is also a task expected to be carried out by concessionaires from next year. However, due to the pandemic, Macau is still maintaining its “5+3” isolation policy for foreign countries – following the lead of the mainland.
In addition, the pandemic situation in mainland China is becoming increasingly serious, with more than 30,000 confirmed cases in one day on Wednesday.
As for the situation of mainland China tour groups visiting Macau, Hoi said the government is still waiting for notification from the mainland.
“The MGTO is still waiting for the approval from the mainland and will announce the latest news to the public as soon as it is available,” he said.
On 24 September, Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng announced that the first “four provinces and one city” of mainland China would start sending tours to Macau in November, but this has not yet materialized.
However, the plan to receive tour groups from the mainland’s four provinces and one city is written into the Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address and is one of the Macau government’s priorities for next year.
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