Macau Doubling Down on HK Tourists

When Covid first hit, Shun Tak Ferry Terminal fell silent

The buzzing of the Turbojets from Shun Tak Ferry Terminal has returned after many Covid restrictions were lifted on January 8.

Before then, for about three years the terminal was completely dead, the Turbojets docked with no where to go, and the harbourfront was nice and quiet for once. Wonder if the sea life below also enjoyed a resurgence. Were there any marine biologists taking advantage of this time to study that?

People lining up for hours for ferry tickets

In any event, business is ramping up big time in Macau, now that the former Portuguese enclave is enticing Hong Kong visitors if they buy ferry tickets to go there, stay at least one night, the return tickets are free, until March 31.

And guess what -- people are lining up for hours to take advantage of the deal (that saves them less than HK$200 or US$25.60)... 

Macau Government Tourism Office deputy director Cheng Wai-tong said Friday that he expected about 10,000 Hongkongers would visit Macau on a daily basis during the Lunar New Year period, and is hoping for the return of the daily average of 20,000 in 2019.

About 8 months ago the terminal was empty

"The more Hong Kong people visit Macau the better," he said. "This is tied to the capacity of ferries and buses, because it will take some time to restore services to pre-Covid-19 levels."

One woman reported standing in line for four hours and 45 minutes. Others grumbled about how long they had to wait in line and said they should have opened more ticket windows.

Typical Hong Kong bitching about efficiency.

Nevertheless, with Hongkongers taking advantage of the "Macau Treat" campaign, hotels are seeing a 63 percent occupancy, which is not bad to start off and considering everyone is experiencing labour shortages.

Macau was devastated by Covid-19, as it is so dependent on visitors, in particular gamblers.

Macau hopes gambling will get it back on track

Even though Beijing has laid down the law that Macau has to move away from gambling and diversify its economy, the Special Administrative Region may have to depend on Baccarat tables and other enticements just to get the city back to pre-pandemic levels.

The great procrastination has begun...