The world's biggest gambling hub Macau has seen tens of thousands of tourists stream daily into its casinos and picturesque cobbled streets over the Lunar New Year holiday, a stark contrast to the dearth of visitors since 2020. Macau has seen a resurgence of tourists from mainland China since Jan. 8 after the special Chinese administrative region dropped all COVID-19 testing requirements for inbound travellers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Visitors pose for photos with a decoration outside the municipal affairs bureau during Lunar New Year in Macau, China, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Lam Yik Macau welcomed more than 71,000 visitors on Monday, the highest single day record since the pandemic, its government said in a statement late on Tuesday. "I come here to gamble, i...
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Only a few tourists crisscrossed the wavy black and white paving of Macau’s historic Senado Square on a recent weekday and many of the shops were shuttered. The gaming hub on China’s south coast near Hong Kong has endured some of the world’s strictest anti-virus controls for nearly three years, and a loosening of border restrictions after China rolled back its “zero-COVID” strategy in early December is widely expected to boost its tourism-driven economy. Grand Lisboa casino is seen in Macao on Dec. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Kanis Leung) But for now, China’s worst wave of infections so far is keeping away the hoards of high rollers who usually fill its casinos. From Dec. 23-27, the city saw a daily average of only 8,300 arrivals, according to police data. That’s just 68% of November’s l...
Read MoreThree years of COVID-19 forced Becky Zhang’s specialty food business in Macau to near collapse. Founded by her grandmother more than fifty years ago, her store selling pastries and dried beef only survived thanks to residents who bought small quantities to help keep them afloat. Now, even after the recent reopening of the world’s biggest gambling hub, tourists are few and many businesses are shuttered, underlining analysts' views that a recovery will be uneven and take some time. People wearing face masks walk under neon lights near casinos during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Macau, China, December 29, 2022. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu “Macau has not seen any improvement after the recent reopening of the city because many people are infected with COVID, many shops are un...
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