The mainland authorities are considering launching a new type of visa for Chinese tour groups, allowing repeat entry to Macau during a single holiday trip between Macau and the neighbouring mainland China district of Hengqin island (pictured).
Deputy director of the Economic Development Bureau of Hengqin, Huang Zhongjian, disclosed the information during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Mr Huang said that China central government representatives went to Hengqin in March as part of a feasibility study. The Hengqin authorities are now formulating plans to provide a framework for such type of visa, added the official.
The proposal would still need to be endorsed by the relevant national ministries, he stated, adding that the plan would need to take into account the needs of the Macau tourism industry.
The idea of a multiple-entry visa between the two places had been mentioned by the Macau government earlier this year, as a possible way to extend the per-trip presence of mainland tourists in Macau, by enabling such visitors to sleep overnight in lower-cost Hengqin hotel rooms.
Currently, mainland travellers visiting Macau are allowed only a single entry and exit visa, even if travelling as part of a tour group.
The idea of multiple entries and exits permitted for both destinations in a single holiday or business trip had been mentioned previously by executives from the city’s casino operators, as well as representatives of Macau’s travel trade, as a way to increase Macau’s attraction as a destination.
Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Macau casino complex operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, said last year that Macau should explore ways of enabling a greater number of events to be hosted jointly by the city and Hengqin.
The concept of facilitating “borderless” travel between Macau and Hengqin for promoting the two-centre tourism had been mentioned as early as in 2017, by Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd’s deputy chairman, Francis Lui Yiu Tung.
