Labour Day: Chinese tourists flock to gambling hub Macau for holiday
Labour Day
The first of May is globally recognised as International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day. It is marked annually to celebrate the labourers and the working classes and remember those who came before and fought for our rights to safe, equitable workplaces. The Labour Day is promoted by the international labour movement.
Labour Day in China
The day was celebrated in China with thousands of visitors descending on the world's biggest gambling hub of Macau for the Labour Day holiday. They were seen in the hub packed tightly into its narrow cobblestone streets and placing bets in its glitzy casinos.
The site was also significant as the surge in visitors comes after China and its special administrative region Macau lifted strict coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions in January, allowing visitors to stream into Macau for the first time in more than three years.
Visitors in ex-Portuguese city
In a report by the news agency Reuters citing local media, more than 100,000 visitors arrived in the former Portuguese city each day on Saturday and Sunday.
The local media reported cited government statistics to note that up from 60,000 a day recorded in previous days.
On the pastel coloured streets surrounding the historical sites of Senado Square and the Ruins of St Paul's, hundreds of visitors thronged cheek by jowl to snap photographs and try Macanese delicacies including egg tarts and dried meat.
What do travellers say?
Macau is the top destination for Chinese travellers within Asia from April 17 to May 7, according to travel data firm ForwardKeys, with bookings up 11% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019 versus a 32% fall in nearby Hong Kong.
Coco Li, a 42-year-old woman from Hubei province who was visiting with her husband, said they chose to come to Macau because travel rules had relaxed.
Li said she was planning to buy cosmetics, handbags and clothes and "definitely go to the casino and gamble for fun, as we still need to control ourselves."
Labour shortage
Macau's government has promoted its cultural heritage, food and entertainment to mainland visitors over the past year.
Authorities are keen to diversify Macau, which depends on casinos for more than 80% of its government revenues and has imposed strict new regulations on its six casino operators.
The rush of visitors comes as the densely populated territory grapples with an acute labour shortage.
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