Macau will be one of the principal beneficiaries of a process under way in China to streamline procedures for outbound travel.
China’s National Immigration Administration said this month it would allow mainland citizens to obtain travel permits to Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan where they currently live instead of having to return to the jurisdictions where they were born to apply.
Previously, they had to comply with a household registration system known as Hukou, which required a person to have a permanent residence in order to be registered. The system forced would-be travelers to return to their official places of residence to receive travel documents, such as passports, travel cards or travel endorsements.
Without the burden of having to return to their official residences, an expensive and time-consuming procedure often involving travel over long distances, more mainlanders are expected to apply to visit to Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan and receive the necessary tourism endorsement quicker.
Chinese authorities estimate that more than 21 million exit-entry permits will be issued to applicants outside their birthplaces in 2019, saving applicants more than 20 billion yuan (about US$3 billion) on transportation expenses.
Macau received more than 1.4 million visitors on package tours through the first two months of this year, an increase of 4.3 percent over 2018. Well more than half of them came from mainland China.
