Home China Brake on Macau tours

Brake on Macau tours

Inês Lei

A new outbreak has spoiled the plans of the tourist industry, which was eagerly awaiting the return of tours and electronic visas. Ron Lam, local deputy, believes that the epidemic situation is under control and that the impact on the sector will be minimal. But “excursions may not be an option in the near future”, confesses the president of the Macau Tourist Guides Association. In Guangzhou, a tourism professional explains to PLATAFORMA that the pandemic has forced the Mainland to create more tourist offers and this reality has made Macau an “old-fashioned” destination

The Directorate of Tourism Services announced the resumption of group tours and the issuance of electronic visas between the end of October and the beginning of November. However, a new local outbreak, on October 26, spoiled the industry’s plans. Wu Wai Fong, president of the Macau Tourist Guides Association, confesses that he is not aware of future tours in the city.

The associative leader tells PLATAFORMA that she does not know the Government’s next step, whether in implementing new rounds of mass tests or strengthening border control mechanisms.

But, she is sure that the new outbreak will affect the organization of tours in Macau, as in mainland China, namely in Guangdong province, the outbreak does not seem to be under control. As such, she believes that “tours may not be an option for the foreseeable future”.

On the impact of the pandemic on industry motivation, Wu Wai Fong says that it is a problem of global dimension.

“With repeated epidemic waves, it is difficult to guarantee that an outbreak will not happen again. The only way to deal with the problem is to assume that it will happen again.”

The president stresses that the Macau Government and mainland China have been communicating constantly, with the possible closure of tours in the event of a new outbreak. A mechanism that she considers “essential to guarantee the safety of tourists from both regions”.

“Previous experience tells us that the situation is still quite easy to control, without any serious impact on the tourism industry or related sectors”, Ron Lam, Member of the Legislative Assembly.

This Wednesday, the authorities of the neighboring city of Zhuhai detected two more cases of Covid-19, one of which with a possible connection to Macau, and extended the confinement, which lasts for at least seven days, to a second area of ​​the city. City.

The Zhuhai municipality had already imposed on Tuesday a confinement and a round of nucleic acid tests in Gongbei district, where Portas do Cerco is located, the main border between Macau and mainland China.

The pandemic seems to have changed the entire tourist landscape. Although the request for a travel permit is simpler than ever, this does not mean that Macau can return to this tourist circuit. Over three years of the pandemic, the region’s tourism ecosystem and market have changed completely. Chung, who works in Guangzhou’s tourism industry, admits that Macau is no longer a very attractive destination for mainland tourists.

“In fact, since the first epidemic outbreak, the Greater Bay has created several tourist destinations, offering visitors from mainland China more options, both in terms of catering and infrastructure in general.”

It points out that, compared to Macau, mainland China has the advantage of having more space to create all kinds of attractions, such as the Nanlang area, with its rice field, or concepts such as camping and travel. by caravan.

“Now trips to Macau are somewhat out of date.”

“It is difficult to guarantee that there will not be an outbreak again. The only way to deal with the problem is to assume that it will happen again,” Wu Wai Fong, President of the Macau Tourist Guides Association.

Even so, she admits that the city remains attractive, especially given its hotels. Ron Lam, a member of the Legislative Assembly, says the impact of the latest outbreak on the tourist industry is not yet fully visible, but that e-visa issuance will be affected.

Macau has yet to experience a mass spread of the virus among its community. Therefore, everything depends on the development of the epidemic situation between Zhuhai and Macau.

“Previous experience tells us that the situation is still quite easy to control, without any serious impact on the tourism industry or related sectors. If Macau implements border control with mainland China, it will adopt a passive position. It is only up to the Government to do a good job, including the aforementioned epidemic control measures, following up on updates made by the Interior and learning from the experience of the June 18 outbreak. At the moment, there are several confirmed cases, with several red areas and risk groups, so universal testing is one of the main safety measures. Temporarily, these measures will remain in effect in the hope of dealing with the situation more effectively than in June.”

Contact Us

Generalist media, focusing on the relationship between Portuguese-speaking countries and China.

Plataforma Studio

Newsletter

Subscribe Plataforma Newsletter to keep up with everything!