Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said on Friday that it is resuming promotion of Macau as a travel destination, targeting mainland Chinese consumers. Its new campaign starts this month and runs to the end of the year.
The work – to be conducted jointly with the private sector – includes roadshows to be held in those mainland cities that form part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. The tourism authority will also have a promotional roadshow in Qingdao, Shandong province, from September 8 to September 12.
MGTO additionally stated that it had been working with eCommerce platforms and online travel agencies serving mainland consumers, to spread word of special offers on Macau accommodation and airline tickets to the city.
To date, mainland China remains the only place that has a largely quarantine-free travel arrangement with Macau.
But even within Macau, community movement restrictions had been in place until the beginning of August, after a local outbreak of Covid-19 that started on June 18 and took more than a month for the authorities to bring under control. Additionally during the alert, travel rules were tightened between Macau and neighbouring Zhuhai, normally a key overland gateway for mainland tourists.
The rules were slightly eased starting on August 3, since when a seven-day quarantine rule was lifted for outbound travel to Zhuhai. Such journeys still require a certificate, issued within 24 hours of intended departure from Macau, showing a ‘negative’ result for Covid-19 infection.
Meanwhile, people travelling from Zhuhai to Macau are still required to present a 48-hour-validity test certificate.
Those that travel directly by air or sea into Macau from anywhere else on the mainland need before departure a nucleic acid test (NAT) certificate with seven-day validity; in addition, these travellers are required to take a nucleic acid test (NAT) upon arrival, plus another such test within the following two days.
Air Macau, the city’s legacy carrier, announced on Thursday it had restored to its schedule – for September and October – flights connecting the city to several cities in the north, east, and south of China. They include: Beijing, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Changzhou, Qingdao, Nantong, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Yiwu and Nanning.
