Macau, the autonomous region of China that is known for being a gambling mecca is again having a difficult time. This is because for every step forward, they are taking two steps back. After battling a series of economical setback from the Covid-19 pandemic, Macau is trying to move forward. According to the Macau National Immigration Administration (NIA), Macau e-Visas Resumption Starts Today.
Previously, in-person applications had been necessary for the past two and a half years due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, the COVID situation in Macau has now become “stable”and demand to visit Macau is increasing. Therefore, they chose to make the e-visas available again to visitors from the Chinese mainland.
Furthermore, the NIA said that electronic applications would be for both individual and group travel visas starting November 1, 2022. According to Gambling Software news, initially, the rollout was to be gradual. However, they chose instead to resume the e-Visas for 49 cities all at once.
In addition, Macau will also launch exit-entry management policies and measures to promote economic and social development. Thus, they are hoping that this will return tourism to normalcy and help give casinos a positive EBITDA by December.
Macau e-Visas Resumption Starts Today Despite a New Covid-19 Outbreak
The easing of the visa rules comes right after Macau brought back COVID-19 restrictions over the weekend. This is because after 3 months without any new COVID cases, a few new cases were seen over the weekend. Therefore, it led to the government to shutting down MGM Cotai casino resort until November 1, 2022.
On the Chinese mainland, a new outbreak is also taking place with over 232 million people being in lockdown. According to Pay Per Head Bookie insider information, around 31 cities in China are under some form of lockdown. As of Oct. 27, one in six people in China is under restriction which covers 24.5% of its gross domestic product.
Despite this setback, Ho Iat-Seng, the chief executive of Macau, is hoping daily visitors from China will rise to 40,000. Furthermore, he is hoping the increase in tourists will help the economic recovery of Macau. Especially after the several casinos have been reporting huge Q3 losses for the year so far.
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