Giving a boost to its tourism-dependent economy, which has been hammered by a slump in visitors since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The first groups will be from Shanghai and four Chinese provinces including Guangdong, the Macau government said at a press conference Saturday, after receiving the go-ahead from the Chinese authorities. But the city will tighten travel restrictions again if Covid outbreaks resurface, it said.
The once bustling gambling hub has taken a heavy blow from China’s Covid-zero policy. Gaming revenue fell by about half in August from a year earlier as fewer Chinese travelers were able to enter the former Portuguese colony. The Macau government aims to double the number of daily visitors to 40,000.
All Macau casinos close in latest Covid-19 outbreak
The plunge in tourism hit other businesses in the city, such as suppliers of slot machines, baccarat table systems and other casino equipment. They moved out to more welcoming markets such as Singapore and the Philippines
Hong Kong lifts hotel quarantine, respite for Macau
The government announced it would remove the hotel quarantine requirement for travelers from Monday and launch a "0+3" scheme, which requires arrivals to undergo a three-day self-check at home or in a hotel.
But they would be barred from venues, such as restaurants and bars, under the city's vaccination pass agreement during the period. Hong Kong may consider lifting all isolation requirements for incoming travelers in the coming weeks if the number of imported coronavirus cases remains stable and locals remain contained, infectious disease experts have suggested.
Health authorities admitted on Saturday that the city would likely have to accept living with the virus and said it was difficult to completely eliminate it from the community.
But Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, a government adviser on pandemics at the University of Hong Kong, suggested the city could afford to end all travel restrictions if the proportion of overseas cases remained below the target. 5 percent in the next few weeks.
"We may see this in the next few weeks as long as local cases are kept under control, which eases the burden on the health system," he said on a radio show. The “0+3” plan will replace the current “3+4” initiative, which involves three days of quarantine in hotels and another four under medical surveillance, while the rules of social distancing and the mask mandate will remain in force.
