Shares in Macau casino operators surged yesterday on news that Guangdong might relax visa restrictions on travel to the gambling enclave starting from next month.
Guangdong residents making trips to Macau under the individual visitation scheme may be able to secure visas once a month, down from once every two months at present, Macau Travel Industry Council president Andy Wu Keng-kuong said.
He said tour operators in Macau had been expecting Guangdong to relax visa restrictions following the October 1 National Day celebrations. He received information from travel agencies in the province that indicated the restrictions would be eased from next month, according to a report in the Macao Daily News.
Mr Wu said it was not the practice for the authorities to make an official announcement of the new arrangement, but a traveller might 'experience' the relaxation when the waiting time of his visa application had been sped up.
Industry executives and analysts have speculated for months that a relaxation of mainland travel policy might be pending as a 'gift' to incoming Macau chief executive Fernando Chui Sai-on, who assumes office in December on the 10th anniversary of the former Portuguese colony's handover to Beijing.
However, any relaxation of the visa restrictions does not yet appear to be official policy. An employee at a Shenzhen travel agency surnamed Zhao said yesterday she had not heard of a shift in policy or received any official notification.
