Macau govt earmarks US$81mln for tourism subsidies

Nov 23, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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The Macau government has budgeted MOP650 million (US$80.7 million) for “expanding sources of tourism” in 2023, with incentives including discounts on flight tickets and on hotel accommodation, said the city’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, in remarks at the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

The specific objectives of the 2023 budget plan as it relates to tourism, are to encourage more visitors to the city, and to get them to stay longer, said Mr Lei.

He was introducing to the assembly the key tasks his officials would work on in relation to the Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2023, outlined last week. At Wednesday’s plenary session of the assembly, Mr Lei said promoting tourism would be a major task for the city’s government in the coming year, in order to revive the local economy.

To date, mainland China remains the only place that has a largely quarantine-free travel arrangement with Macau.

The Macau government has – subsequent to the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 – been running subsidy initiatives – known officially as “spending stimulus” efforts – to encourage in particular, mainland China tourists to come to Macau. Such effort, run with assistance from Chinese online commerce brands, has already included discount offers on flight tickets and hotel stays.

At the Wednesday assembly session, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, told legislators that her department would continue to work with Macau’s Sports Bureau to attract a greater number of sports events to the city as part of tourism-promotion efforts. MGTO would also look at developing marine-tourism projects with Zhuhai, a neighbouring city in the mainland’s Guangdong province.

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