The Macau government has decided to “shelve” a previously-mooted promotion initiative aimed at local residents, for so-called staycations at the city’s casino resorts, said the director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, in comments to the local media on Saturday.
The government had not previously clarified whether such a promotion scheme – that had been mulled for August – might have involved spending public money to subsidise local properties and-or local consumers, for the latter to stay at the city’s resort hotels. During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, restrictions concerning travel further afield, make it difficult for local people to have holidays beyond the city’s boundaries.
“I think most large-scale hotels have already been selling some [staycation] packages, and even at very favourable rates,” for locals, said Ms Senna Fernandes said on the sidelines of a public event.
“So at this stage the Macau government does not need to allocate public resources on a staycation programme” for locals, the MGTO boss said.
Macau’s government already has in place a subsidy scheme to support the city’s tour industry, by paying toward the cost of locals going on tours of the city. It is spending more than MOP280 million (US$35.1 million) on those products – some involving trips to the city’s casino resorts – and branded as ‘Macao Ready Go! Local Tours’.
