The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is introducing, starting from Thursday (February 1), a special offer for free one-way ferry tickets from Hong Kong to Macau for international visitors. The bureau is also extending a special one-way free ticket campaign for direct buses connecting Hong Kong International Airport with the Macau Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
MGTO expects the two campaigns to lead to side trips to Macau by transit travellers and others visiting neigbouring Hong Kong.
Both offers are available only to people from “beyond the Greater China region,” MGTO said in a press release on Tuesday.
The move aims to “attract more international visitors to Macao,” stated the office, and to “expand the diversity of visitor source markets for more robust tourism and economic development”.
The free offer for one-way ferry tickets to Macau is available from February 1 to July 31, “to encourage international visitors in Hong Kong to extend their trip to Macau”.
International visitors can book ferry tickets for free in advance, by showing their valid travel documents along with boarding passes, electronic tickets or transportation receipts which indicate their arrival to Hong Kong within seven days before their intended trip to Macau.
The free ticket offer for the direct bus service is available from February 1 to August 31. Upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport, international visitors can present their valid travel documents and boarding passes in the restricted area to obtain free bus tickets for the direct shuttle transfer from the SkyPier Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport to Macau via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
In a separate release also on Tuesday, MGTO stated it had partnered with 12 international cruise line operators that serve Hong Kong, in order to launch Macau tour products.
Before or during their cruise vacation, or upon arrival at the harbour in Hong Kong, passengers can purchase Macau tour products, either on the cruise lines’ websites or at tour counters on board, said MGTO.
According to the office, the tour itineraries include visits to the city’s casino resorts, heritage sites, the Macao Museum, and Macau Tower.
“Capitalising on the Hong Kong Cruise Terminal, MGTO hopes to energise international visitors’ interest in including Macau as part of their journey, by offering them a convenient way to travel to the city with ease,” said the announcement.
Macau welcomed about 28.21 million visitors in full-year 2023, according to data from the city’s Statistics and Census Service. Of those, less than 1.46 million were international travellers, i.e., from outside mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
