[ad_1]
MACAU (AP) – Only a few tourists crossed the wavy black-and-white pavement of Macau’s historic Senado Square on a recent weekday, and many of the shops were closed.
The gaming hub on China’s southern coast near Hong Kong has endured three years of the world’s strictest anti-virus controls, and the easing of border restrictions was widely expected after China returned to its “zero-COVID” policy in early December. It boosts the tourism-driven economy.
But now China’s worst wave of infections to date is waiting for high-roller stocks to fill its casinos. From December 23-27, the city saw an average of just 8,300 migrants each day, according to police data. This is only 68% of the November level. The scene improved on New Year’s Eve, when 28,100 visitors entered the city that day, just 66% of the year-ago level. Before the outbreak in 2019, the daily average was 108,000.
Last week, China announced that it would continue to issue tourist passports, which could lead to a flood of Chinese people going abroad, but it would also start competition for Macau.
Businesses hope Lunar New Year celebrations in late January will bring better luck to the 672,000-strong former Portuguese colony and the only place in China where casinos are legal.
“Tourists come here to walk rather than shop,” said Anthony Chow, who sells roast brisket in a square lined with European-style buildings reminiscent of old Portuguese colonial history. “They’re wandering around.”
In the year By the time the coronavirus hit in 2020, the city’s gambling revenue had fallen 80% from a year earlier to $7.5 billion. In the year By 2021, the figure is back to $10.8 billion, but down 75% from $45 billion in 2013. Last year, gambling revenue halved to $5.3 billion.
For souvenir shop owner Lee Hong-soi, a comeback could not come for a moment.
He said his business had been quiet recently before the entry rules were relaxed. He said that he needed a negative PCR test result before leaving to enter Macau, as many in mainland China were infected and could not visit. And now Macau and other parts of China are battling epidemics.
“After three years, I’m running out of energy,” he said.
Several hundred yards away, visitors were enjoying an unusual level of serenity at the ruins of St. Paul’s, originally a 17th-century Mother Dei church.
Rain Lee, 29, visiting from Hong Kong with her husband, said she was glad she couldn’t deal with the crowds, but was disappointed that many businesses were closed.
“A lot of shops are gone,” said Lee, a property manager. “I wish it was like the pre-pandemic days when all the stores were open, with lots of people walking the streets. He was more active then. “
Xylia Zhang, a 36-year-old visitor to Beijing, was eager to try her luck at casinos on her first trip outside the mainland since the outbreak began.
“It’s exciting because I could lose several hundred dollars (in Chinese yuan) that I had budgeted for,” she says. “I’ve been to casinos in Seoul and Las Vegas. But I haven’t experienced this in Chinese-speaking places.”
The surge in cases in China has prompted some people to travel to Macau to get the mRNA-based Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is not available on the mainland, Chinese business news website Caixin reported last month. Macau University Hospital, which provides the service, did not respond to an emailed request for comment, and calls went unanswered Friday.
But there was no sign of a rush of customers, especially in casinos.
The gambling floors at the two major casinos were half-empty Wednesday, with only a few Chinese visitors sitting around the slot machines and craps tables, with a lack of dealer activity.
Macau will take some time to regain its pre-pandemic pizazz, said Glenn McCartney, associate professor of integrated resort and tourism management at the University of Macau.
“(For) tourism, you can’t just snap your fingers, and things start moving,” McCartney said.
But Macau tourism officials say they have taken the city’s beauty across the border by organizing street fairs in China during the outbreak.
The Lunar New Year brings the possibility of a longer return in tourism, he said.
“This could be a sign.”
[ad_2]
Source link
