In response to last month’s implementation of COVID-19 test-free travelling rules, Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes told reporters on Tuesday that MGTO has launched promotion campaigns in countries and regions with direct flights to Macau this year, such as different special offers and roadshows, with a budget of about 600 million patacas being set aside.
However, due to the high demand for venues, its promotion campaign which was slated to be held in Thailand next month will be rescheduled, she added.
Senna Fernandes pointed out that with the aim of attracting more international visitors to Macau, MGTO will also gradually introduce tourism products with discounts and strengthen the publicity of Macau’s tourism image, so as to promote its tourism products and attractions through multiple advertising methods.
According to Senna Fernandes, in the hope of attracting more tourists to come to Macau in twos and in groups, the government has launched a plan to give away 120,000 air tickets, mainly in the form of “buy-one-get-one-free”, covering both domestic and foreign passengers. She said that MGTO was in close contact with Air Macau to respond to changes in market conditions to adjust the proportion of free air tickets for mainland, Taiwan and foreign passengers, hoping to increase the proportion to foreign markets.
Thanks to the resumption of individual travellers from Macau being able to travel to Taiwan from next week, the number of flights between Taiwan and Macau will be increased as soon as possible, Senna Fernandes said that considering that the number of tourists from Taiwan to Macau ranked third during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic (after the mainland and Hong Kong), MGTO will invite representatives from Taiwan’s tourism industry to visit Macau so that they can familiarise themselves with the city’s new tourism products, hoping to promote business development and cooperation opportunities between the two regions. Meanwhile, the current subsidy programme for group tours will also be expanded to Taiwan and foreign markets, she said, adding that the subsidy for foreign group tours requires them to stay in Macau for at least one night, and the amount will be higher than that for mainland group tourists.
Meanwhile, Air Asia operated its first post-pandemic flight to Macau on Tuesday, after over three years since the first COVID-19 case was detected in the city in early 2020, which arrived in Macau, with a total of 168 passengers, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Senna Fernandes, who attended Tuesday’s welcome ceremony at the local airport, pointed out that before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia was one of Macau’s top 10 source markets for international tourists, with over 200,000 visitor arrivals a year, about 60 percent of whom stayed in Macau for more than a day. She added that the resumption of direct flights between Macau and Kuala Lumpur enables Malaysian tourists to visit Macau again, opening up more international visitor sources for Macau, while enriching the city’s tourist structure.
Senna Fernandes made the remarks during Tuesday’s welcome ceremony at the airport.
Meanwhile, according to an MGTO statement also on Tuesday, Air Asia flights between Macau and Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport, and between the city and the Philippines, will resume this coming Saturday and on March 2 respectively.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes talks to reporters on the sidelines of Tuesday’s welcome ceremony for the first post-pandemic air passengers from Malaysia at the local airport. – Photo: MPDG
