Macau enters new era as borders reopen

After nearly three years under restrictive measures due to the pandemic, Macau’s borders are now open for all travellers, with testing measures eliminated for all arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The city is gearing up its incoming travel avenues, with ferries, buses from Hong Kong and increased flights as it prepares for the Chinese New Year holiday.

On the first day of the relaxed restrictions, Sunday, arrivals jumped to over 39,000, comprised mostly of Chinese visitors from the mainland, while the first day of ferry services from Hong Kong brought in over 2,000 visitors.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge also resumed 24-hour service, with both personal vehicles and the bus service between the SARs returning to normal service hours. Currently, buses are running hourly, whereas prior to the pandemic they ran every 15 minutes.

Prior bookings are also no longer required, as well as real-name registration, as tickets can now be purchased at the counter. Those leaving Macau to Hong Kong are still required to submit a negative rapid antigen test within 24 hours or a nucleic acid test within 48 hours.

Macau authorities had previously announced the changes in measures as they move to open up before the Chinese New Year holiday, with expectations that pent-up demand will finally move the dial on visitation.

Source: Asia Gamng Brief