Many yearn for those days of commonplace international travel. But even now there is one destination abroad within our reach, and that’s the quarantine-free former Portuguese enclave of Macau. Find out more at a special promotional activity starting this week.
The pedestrianised street in Nanjing’s Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao) shall be the place to be over the next few days for those eager for the first stamp in their passport in quite a while. Welcome to Macau Week in Nanjing.
But a “week” in Macau would, however, appear to be only 4 days long. From 13 to 17 May, Macau Week is to focus on integrated tourism; team-building tourism and sports tourism being but two examples.
Both the Macau Special Administrative Region’s public and private sectors will be involved; the Macau Government Tourism Office that is the event organiser and all six of the Region’s gaming concessionaires; Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, MGM China, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (SJM) and Wynn Macau.
Macau Week in Nanjing will include highlights such as cuisine, a “mega roadshow”, business matchmaking and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) seminars.
The Nanjinger talked with Zoe Zhou of Moment Bespoke Travel, who thinks that Macau makes for the perfect team building or MICE destination. “With a wide range of activities, your team could be indulged in unique indoor or outdoor programs, like treasure hunts, beach games, dragon boat races, sky drumming, Macau Eggtart or Portuguese-Macanese culinary classes, and Food Safari Macau”, she said.
“Macao is getting quite easy for travellers from the mainland”, Zhou added. “It’s possible to get good rates and packages at luxury five-star hotels, such as Sands Resorts Macau, Galaxy Macau and others.”
For Zhou and others in the travel industry, 13 May is the day to attend Macau Week in Nanjing. For passport-toting travellers, during the following 3 days is the time to show up to check out Macau’s World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage, as well as other commercial and tourist attractions.
The Macau Daily Times has reported that a total of over ¥90 million in special offers on air tickets, hotel accommodation, dining and more, will be given away during the promotion, as a way to stimulate the Region’s economic revival in the wake of COVID.
At present, no quarantine is necessary for most travellers from mainland China entering Macau, but a negative COVID test is required. Being valid for 7 days, one test may function for both entry and return for a short stay if the test is taken shortly before departure.
Air Macau flies from Nanjing Lukou International Airport to Macau International Airport, with flight NX127, an Airbus 321 departing daily at 15:55.
In many ways, Macau meets the definition of the term, “superlative”. The Region has one of the highest life expectancies and standards of living in the world. It is also the area with the world’s densest population, while its gaming industry is the largest globally, worth seven times more than that of Las Vegas.
