Macau’s casino stocks are seeing a rebound, after the territory eliminated entry restrictions on Sunday, allowing for testing-free travel between the SAR and China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and eliminating quarantine for all entrants.

Macau has resumed to normal, after nearly three years under restrictive measures due to the pandemic, borders are now open for all travelers, with testing measures eliminated for all arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Macau is lifting all travel restrictions starting from January 8th, no longer requiring negative nucleic acid testing for visitors entering from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, despite around 70 percent of the population having contracted COVID.

The President of the Macau Tourism Industry is estimating that tourists from Hong Kong will actually be the primary source of visitation during the Chinese New Year (CNY) period, towards the end of January.

Foreigner-only casinos in South Korea – Paradise and Grand Korea Leisure – reported strong gains in December, boosting their full year revenue for 2022.

Zeng Zhonglu, a gaming scholar has estimated that Macau’s gross gaming revenues could reach up to 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels in 2023, at MOP175.47 billion ($21.84 billion) as the territory aims to rebound from nearly three years of lackluster gaming results under COVID restrictions.

Macau has recorded its lowest ever gross gaming revenue during a year for 2022, with annual figures at just MOP42.19 billion ($5.26 billion), a drop of 51.4 percent yearly.

Macau is expecting a surge in Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year holiday, after COVID prevention measures were dropped and the zero-COVID policy abandoned after nearly three years. This comes as Macau finally received authorization to allow tour groups in from mainland China.

Junkets in Macau are going to be required to provide a guarantee of MOP1.5 million ($187,000) in order to be able to apply for a new junket license or to renew an existing one.

Macau’s Chief Executive has said that the city’s residents “need our normal life back”, as officials say that the city has already reached the peak of the new COVID infection period.