A group of Macau legislators and government officials journeyed to Beijing last week for two biggest political gatherings of the year in hopes of prevailing on the central government to ease restrictions on tourist travel to the casino hub.
The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, held March 4, followed the next day by the 13th National People’s Congress, were seen as prime opportunities for the local officials who attend them every year as members to make their case.
Covid-related travel restrictions on both sides of the border forced Macau’s gaming-dependent economy to limp along for the better part of 2020 almost entirely cut off from its principal source of gamblers.
It wasn’t until September that the Chinese government fully reinstated the visa system permitting individual tourist travel to Macau, but the program has yet to become fully functioning and hasn’t been reopened to online applications.
“This is something we are concerned about, and we hope to be able to express our views to the central government and hopefully they can simplify visa procedures and that the time of visitors stay in Macau will be a bit longer, with a better frequency,” said lawmaker Jose Chui.
“We will make efforts to demonstrate the important steps that could really help Macau in the short run,” he added.
The record visitation recorded in 2019, more than 40 million, plunged to less than 6 million last year, and hopes for an early recovery during Chinese New Year, normally the busiest annual travel holiday in the country, were dashed by warnings issued by the central government in response to a resurgence of the virus in a number of mainland cities. In the end, fewer than 100,000 people entered Macau during the February 11-17 holiday.
Macau, for its part, has since rescinded mandatory quarantines imposed on residents of more than a dozen mainland cities, and although a negative Covid test is still required to cross the border, it’s no longer a requirement to enter a casino.
“With the weather getting warmer around the country, it was expected the outlook would further stabilize in terms of epidemic-related developments,” a statement from the government said.
At the same time, to assure visitors the city is safe, the government continues to impose stringent health precautions in the gaming halls𑁋including mandatory face covering, capacity limits, physical barriers and other social distancing measures.
Chui was optimistic last week on the eve of the “two sessions,” as the March 4-5 gatherings are known. “I expect more favorable policies will be announced so as to allow an increase of tourists to Macau,” he said.
Most observers, however, remain skeptical of anything resembling a full recovery until vaccination becomes widespread on both sides of the border and herd immunity is achieved.
Macau began inoculations last month, but ramp-up has been slow. To date, availability has been limited to an initial batch of 100,000 doses from China’s Sinopharm, but people over 60 have been excluded for safety reasons.
“They are the group that is much eager to get the vaccine,” a local official said. “We need at least half of the population to be inoculated. When that is reached Macau will be quite safe, and from the perspective of the central government they will be happier and more willing to let more Chinese visitors travel to Macau.”
A second batch of vaccinations from Germany’s BioNTech, which are considered safe for older residents, was expected to arrive in the territory last week via Hong Kong.
“Everybody is betting on the vaccine,” legislator and local businessman Chan Chak Mo told Macau News Agency. “If everyone gets inoculated it can turn things around.”
