The latest COVID outbreak in Macau began on Sunday and 71 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 so far, most of them with no symptoms. Macau and mainland China have taken measures to control the outbreak, so the travel industry is once again facing a serious blow. Some businessmen described the current situation as “economic zero”.
Due to the impact of the epidemic, the immigration policy between Macau and the mainland has also changed. The previous 7-day nucleic acid test validity was slashed to just 24 hours, and Zhuhai has implemented a 7-day home quarantine for those who have returned from Macau. As a result, the number of visitors to Macau dropped drastically and tourism has once again been severely affected.
The famous Ruins of St Paul’s area is almost empty today due to the pandemic, and most of the people passing by now are Macau locals. A souvenir store owner, who did not want to show up for work, told me that the outbreak has had a serious impact on the souvenir stores. “From Sunday to today, almost no tourists have been here,” he said. “Business has fallen to zero.”
The souvenir store owner continued, “Business had been recovering steadily, but with the sudden outbreak of the epidemic, business dropped to zero immediately.”
After the outbreak, the government implemented a strict closure policy. The souvenir store owner thinks this policy has a huge impact on the tourism industry. “It’s two years after the epidemic began, but now the measures are stricter than two years ago,” he said. “Now it’s not just a COVID zero, it’s an economic zero.”
In a telephone interview with IAG, Macau Travel Industry Council president, Andy Wu Keng Kuong, said that the epidemic has had a huge impact on the tourism industry. ”The tourism industry and the government’s plans for conventions and events in July are all affected by the epidemic,” Wu said. “We can only hope the epidemic will end as soon as possible.”
In the face of the government’s series of blockade measures, he pointed out that “this outbreak of the epidemic is unprecedented, and the Macau tourism industry is closely linked to the mainland, which is also implementing a similar epidemic prevention policy.”
“If the situation in Macau becomes like that of Shanghai, it will be unacceptable to the Macau community. I hope the situation can be controlled within 14 days and normal life can be resumed.”
