Thousands in Hong Kong queue up for cross-border shuttle to visit Macau in hopes of spending Easter long weekend in casino hub
- Many Hongkongers say they chose to head to casino hub for holiday as other travel options were too expensive
- By 9pm on Friday, 61,688 people had left city using Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge checkpoint, a three-year high
Thousands of people queued for a cross-border shuttle service to Macau on Friday morning, hoping to spend the Easter holiday, the first long weekend since Hong Kong lifted its Covid-19 curbs, in the casino hub as an inexpensive travel option.
By 9pm, 61,688 people had left the city using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge checkpoint, a three-year high, while 31,589 entered via the control point.
After taking hours to cross the border via the bridge, Hongkongers headed to major attractions in Macau.
At the World Heritage site the Ruins of St Paul’s, Hong Kong families were seen taking group photos and friends posed for selfies, while some bought the city’s famous pork jerky and egg rolls.
Joe Lee and his three colleagues, all in their twenties or thirties, spent Thursday night in Macau and hunted for good food, including famed pork chop buns and coffee from one 58-year-old shop.
The group spent HK$10,000 (US$1,270) on their trip, adding that it was much cheaper than travelling to other destinations.