Ren, chairman of the Macau Federation of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, said tourist arrivals were at a satisfactory level during the Mid-Autumn Festival as mainland Chinese authorities urged citizens to stay home and reduce travel during the holidays. said it may not be reached. Sai Wai told the Macau News Agency (MNA).
Wu Liangyu, deputy director of the National Health Commission’s Department of Disease Control and Prevention, said at a press conference yesterday that the public should remain still during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Golden Week holidays. The risk of a pandemic outbreak due to large-scale movement of people, which said that inter-city movement should be restricted to avoid it.
From September 10 to October 31, mainland residents must present a negative nucleic acid test (NAT) result taken within 48 hours of traveling by plane, train, and interstate car or boat. is needed. You must undergo a voluntary nucleic acid test upon arrival.
Also, individuals must hold a negative NAT result conducted within 72 hours to enter hotels and tourist sites, and avoid “unnecessary mass gathering activities” such as training, exhibitions and cultural performances. is needed.
Leng told the MNA that Macau’s tourism industry would “definitely be affected”. As the pandemic hits some provinces on the mainland and policies requiring residents to stay home will negatively impact tourists’ intentions to visit SAR.
With the COVID-19 pandemic reigniting in various cities across the mainland, many local governments have sent out announcements asking residents to stay home and travel less during the upcoming holidays.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival situation will not be optimistic. It means that the government does not encourage people to go out, and people do not travel elsewhere. So how can tourists visit the Special Administrative Region?” Can you do it?” Ren said.
On the other hand, he stressed that the average daily visitor numbers are unlikely to reach around 20,000 during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said it hopes visitor numbers will rise above 20,000 to 40,000 and even return to levels of 30,000 to 40,000 before the October 1 China National Day holiday. Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong said.
“As long as the COVID-19 outbreak remains stable, tourists will gradually return to Macau,” he told local media.
The president of the Tourism Association said that people entering the mainland from Macau via landports are required to present a negative nucleic acid test result performed within 24 hours. Expressed that it will give the impression that it is still a high-risk region, which will affect the confidence to visit Macau.
“Mainland arrivals entering Macau are only required to present a negative test result performed within the last 48 hours, whereas a negative NAT result performed within the previous 24 hours will be required when returning to the mainland. This “unequal situation” has led tourists to believe that Macau is still relatively at higher risk of pandemic transmission than the mainland, and that the pandemic situation in the SAR is still precarious. It will make you feel,” Ren said.
Regarding the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which will open on October 16, the chairman said the social and tourism sectors hoped that pandemic prevention and control policies would be eased after the event, adding that the NAT “Tourist arrivals should double from current levels” if testing requirements allow.
“Macau is doing a good job on all fronts, offering significant discounts on hotels and flights. As long as the pandemic situation stabilizes and policies are eased, the average number of tourists per day is expected to rise from 40,000 to 40,000. It could reach 50,000, or even 100,000,” noted a representative of the tourism sector.
According to MGTO, Macau saw an average of 14,737 daily visitors from August 20th to 26th, an increase of 18% compared to an average of 12,485 daily visitors from August 13th to 19th.
