The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) launched on Monday a free-ticket offer on the direct bus service from Hong Kong International Airport to Macau. The subsidy aims to“encourage” international visitors and tourists from Taiwan travelling in Hong Kong “to extend their trip to Macau,” stated the tourism office in a press release.
“The offer is set to spur twin-destination tourism to Hong Kong and Macau while tapping a more diverse range of international visitor markets,” it added. The announcement did not say how long the free-ticket offer would run.
According to the release, upon arrival at the Hong Kong airport, “eligible visitors can proceed to the direct bus service counter, present their travel documents and boarding passes, and register with the related information to obtain free bus tickets” to Macau.
“During the period of the offer, visitors can enjoy the free bus service for unlimited times. The quota is in limited quantity and available on a first-come, first-served basis while it lasts,” stated MGTO.
MGTO said it would work with the bus service operator to “roll out a range of online and offline promotions for the free ticket offer”.
“The efforts are made to expand visitors’ length of stay and spending in Macau,” said the tourism office. “More international visitors are expected to come and spend the festive holidays in Macau for an experience of the city’s latest elements and facilities,” it added.
Macau welcomed about 28.23 million visitors in full-year 2023, a daily average of circa 77,000, said the tourism office in a separate Monday press release. The figure represented a recovery to about 70 percent compared to 2019, the last trading year before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.