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Post by Blitz on Aug 8, 2023 5:14:24 GMT -5
China to further ease entry visas for business purposes By Viviana Chan - August 4, 2023 agbrief.com/news/china/04/08/2023/china-to-further-ease-entry-visas-for-business-purposes/China plans to relax several visa-issuing policies for entering the country, including visas on arrival for foreign businesspeople. The decision is part of a series of measures announced by the country’s Ministry of Public Security to stimulate the country’s economy in the post-COVID period. China removed COVID-related travel restrictions in January this year since then started to ease visa-issuing policies. The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Thursday that the plan is to provide visa issuance for specific users and multiple-entry visas for foreign business personnel coming to China. In this case, Macau and Hengqin’s multiple-entry visas may achieve new progress soon. According to Macau and Guagdong’s concept, a business traveler may be able to stay in a hotel in Hengqin and go back to attend meetings in Macau, or a normal tourist can have a longer stay and visit Macau and Hengqin on the same trip. This will rely on the new visa scheme. The tours and e-visas for mainlanders to visit Macau were suspended since the start of the COVID outbreak in early 2020, with the absence of the eVisa system meaning mainland visitors have had to return to their place of origin to apply in person for a Macau visa. China resumed eVisas in November last year, and Macau only received its first tour group from mainland China this February. China issued 42.8 million travel visas to Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the first half of the year, a significant increase of 1,509 percent from last year. The figure has recovered to 96.5 percent of 2019 levels.
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Post by Blitz on Apr 24, 2024 5:44:40 GMT -5
Melco’s Lawrence Ho: multi-trip visa between Hengqin and Macau would benefit industry development by Pierce Chan Wed 24 Apr 2024 at 14:14 www.asgam.com/index.php/2024/04/24/melcos-lawrence-ho-multi-trip-visa-between-hengqin-and-macau-would-benefit-industry-development/Lawrence Ho, the Chairman and CEO of Melco Resorts & Entertainment, says it would be beneficial to the long-term development of the gaming industry if authorities proceed with a plan to allow multiple trips between Hengqin and Macau. Current rules only allow for a single trip by mainland visitors to Macau on a visa, however as reported by IAG the Macau SAR Government has announced plans to implement multiple trips between Hengqin and the Macau control point. The Economic Development Bureau of Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin also said in April that it was designing a plan for multiple-journey tours between Hengqin and Macau. In an interview with local media after attending an event this week, Ho said that opening up the multiple-entry visa scheme would be helpful to Macau’s development. “The only problem in Macau now is whether there are enough hotel rooms, and at the moment 90% of the hotel rooms are often full,” he explained. “The number of hotel rooms in Macau is only one-third of the number in Las Vegas. Hotel rooms in Hengqin are also cheaper than those in Macau, so if [mainland travelers] can make multiple round trips to Macau through Hengqin, it will be better for the development of Macau and Hengqin in the long run.” Asked if he was concerned multiple entries could impact hotel occupancy rates in Macau, Ho said the two locations can complement one another. “Many of the hotels in Macau are five-star hotels, while Hengqin has more three-star or four-star hotels,” he said. The “multiple-entry permit” policy was also mentioned during Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s Question and Answer session before the Legislative Assembly last week, where he suggested the scheme was mainly for mainland tour groups, with a detailed document due soon.
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