MGTO Director Says Operators Should Prepare for a Quiet Summer Holiday

Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), has said that the gaming and integrated resort (IR) operators in Macau should prepare for the borders to remain closed during this year’s summer holiday period.

While the MGTO is working with the hospitality industry to offer more promotions for local residents in August, Senna Fernandes said the border restrictions will not be easily loosened during the summer and that visitors would, therefore, be unable to enter freely.

“It is expected that border controls would remain limited in the short term. Chinese or foreign visitors are unlikely to enter Macau, visitation will be limited to certain groups of visitors,” she said.

Senna Fernandes also revealed the MGTO had recently initiated plans to arrange tours between Macau and Hengqin but was forced to suspend those plans due to current border controls.

While the occupancy rate of five-star hotels has shown some very slight improvement recently, albeit only up from 6% to 10%, the MGTO has been in discussions with hotel operators to offer more discounts and promotions for local residents.

“Residents aren’t able to travel anywhere under this pandemic either. Schools will end their academic year in late July, so we encourage operators to provide more discounts to locals in August to drive expenditure on hospitality, dining and shopping in IRs,” Senna Fernandes said.