After handing out government subsidies for nearly six months, Macau’s Tourism Office (MGTO) decided to discontinue half-price ferry and bus tickets for Hong Kong visitors starting in July. However, the promotion’s plans for overseas that began in mid-April will maintain.
Speaking to local media, Deputy Director of Macau’s Tourism Office (MGTO) Hoi Io Meng noted that the number of Hong Kong tourists in Macau recovered to 80 percent of 2019 levels. In this way, he believes that the tourism products launched in Macau were attractive to tourists from Hong Kong, so the authorities would not extend the free “return ride” offer for Hong Kong tourists. MGTO launched the free return ferry and bus ticket plan early this year, and it will end by June 30th.
He revealed that MGTO is working with different airlines to offer different offers to attract more tourists from overseas source markets.
Currently, Macau welcomes about 3,000 overseas visitors daily. Hoi considers that it is necessary to continue the promotional campaign.
Regarding the visitor arrival forecast, Hui noted that based on current data, the average daily visitor arrivals is about 70 000 this month, which is the same as that of May. He indicated that June is the traditional off-season for tourism, “this figure is already good.”
MGTO allocated MOP180 million ($22.3 million) for promotional campaigns linked to package tours this year. The plan includes a subsidy scheme for tourists from the Chinese mainland, overseas countries, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
