By Tony Lai No optimism
No optimism T
he long-awaited relaxation of travel arrangements recently has been welcomed, by the community at large here, as a step in the right direction for the normalisation of traffic between Macau and Mainland China,
in the wake of the global pandemic. Despite signs of a potential turnaround after months of struggling, junket operators expect their business prospects in the short run to be dismal. “We do not anticipate there will be any major
breakthroughs this year,” says Luiz Lam, a director at the Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, despite the recent news of loosening the quarantine arrangement of travel from Macau to Guangdong, a rule
Local junket operators expect no significant changes in the business climate in the short run, albeit the recent relaxation of travel measures between Macau and Mainland China, as they are looking for more communication with the Government
that has been imposed since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) earlier this year. “We expect the strategy of the authorities is to gradually lift up the travel restrictions to allow more visitors, but it’s impossible to see the restoration of free travel between the two sides without any restrictions this year,” says the representative of the Macau junket trade body, the middlemen that help attract big rollers to casinos and lend credits to them that will be settled later.
Guangdong provincial authorities announced last month that Mainland Chinese residents, the major source of tourism and gaming revenue for Macau, returning from the city to Guangdong province via Zhuhai, do not have to undergo a 14-day quarantine at designated locations starting from 15 July, a rule that had been in place for months to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Mainland residents, with existing valid visas to Macau, now could move freely within Guangdong, but not beyond the province in the first two weeks upon returning from the SAR. It is expected, however, this relaxation alone could do little to help the city. Brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein said in a recent research
note: “Individuals coming to Macau from outside of Guangdong would face difficulties in travel as they would likely need to stay in Guangdong for two weeks prior to travelling home, which will severely restrict visitation. Further, there is still no word on the timing of restart of Individual Visit Scheme [visa] issuance (or group travel visa issuance).” The central government has stopped issuing new IVS permits and banned group tours to Macau since the end of January. “What we hope now is that our business could gradually
improve and we will lose less money step by step,” says Mr Lam, sharing a similar perspective. “The best scenario is
24 SEPTEMBER 2020
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