Macao is looking forward to an upcoming tourism boom after the Chinese government raised the duty-free shopping quota for inland visitors to Hong Kong and Macao.
A notice jointly released by the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and State Taxation Administration said Friday that the new policy will apply to adult visitors entering from Hong Kong and Macao whose personal belongings obtained overseas have a total value of no more than 12,000 yuan (about 1,688 U.S. dollars).
At ports with duty-free shops, the cap will be raised to 15,000 yuan, the notice added.
Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng expressed gratitude on Friday on behalf of the Macao SAR government for the central government's newly introduced measures.
Ho said that the increase in the duty-free allowance would help promote tourism consumption growth and boost the local economy. This will benefit SMEs, including the retail sector, and aid the steady forward development of the overall economy of the Macao SAR.
"The Economic and Technological Development Bureau sincerely thanks the central government for once again introducing measures to benefit Macao. We believe that these measures will enhance Macao's attractiveness to draw more tourists from the inland to shop and consume here, which will play a positive role in promoting Macao's overall economic development," said Tai Kin Ip, director of the Macao SAR's Economic and Technological Development Bureau.
With support from the central government, the number of cities covered under the Individual Visit Scheme for tours to Hong Kong and Macao has expanded from 49 to 59.
In the first five months of 2024, over 14 million tourists visited Macao, up about 50 percent year on year, which has boosted consumption.
"These new preferential policies in favor of Macao have showcased the central government's strong support and care for Hong Kong and Macao's economic development. For small and medium-sized enterprises, these are great news. We've been motivated. I believe that these measures will further increase tourists' consumption desire, as well as promote the diversified development of Macao's economy. Our business sector has also fully prepared to provide better consumption experience for tourists from the inland," said Wu Tat Chong, president of Macao Small and Medium Enterprise Development Alliance.
Macao looks forward to tourism boom following increase of duty-free quota for inland tourists
China has intensified its flood control efforts as the country's Yangtze River is experiencing its 2024 "No.1 Flood".
Due to continuous rainfall, the water level of Taihu Lake has risen to 3.81 meters as of Sunday afternoon, with 24 monitoring stations exceeding the warning level. Currently, Suzhou City of east China's Jiangsu Province has raised the emergency flood response level to Level III.
"In just a short span of 15 and a half hours, the water level [at Taipu sluice gate] rose by 21 centimeters. At present, Taipu sluice gate is discharging water downstream in accordance with the instructions from the Taihu Lake Basin Authority," said Ze Zhenrong, director of the Taipu River Management Office, Taihu Lake Basin Authority.
According to meteorological forecasts, the Taihu Lake Basin will continue to experience rainfall in the next three days, leading to a continued rise in the water level of the lake. It is possible that the water level may exceed four meters, indicating a severe flood control situation.
Affected by persistent heavy rainfalls, multiple tributaries connected to Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, China's two largest freshwater lakes, have seen major flooding.
At 09:00 on Sunday, the water level at the Chenglingji hydrological station of Dongting Lake, in central China's Hunan Province reached 33 meters, surpassing the warning line.
The city of Yueyang has mobilized over 3,000 grassroots Party organizations and more than 80,000 Party members and officials to conduct 24-hour patrols.
Due to rainfall, a road collapse occurred on the Yueyang section of Pingjiang-Dongko Expressway at 08:00 on Sunday. The traffic police implemented temporary traffic control measures. Thanks to a timely response, there were no vehicles falling or casualties at the scene. Currently, the site of the collapse is still undergoing emergency repairs.
Also, starting from Saturday, the water level in the Wushui River section of Xinhuan County in Hunan's Huaihua City has been continuously rising. Local authorities immediately began relocating affected residents to safe areas. By the early morning of Sunday, a total of 28,000 people had been relocated in the area.
In addition, the education bureau of Huaihua issued a notice on Sunday, suspending all offline educational activities in primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and extracurricular training institutions throughout the city.
Due to continuous rainfall and upstream inflows, the water level of Poyang Lake in east China's Jiangxi Province continues to rise even after surpassing the warning level. As of 09:00 on Sunday, the water level at the lake's landmark Xingzi hydrological station had exceeded the warning level by 1.69 meters.
China intensifies disaster control efforts as Yangtze River sees first flood of 2024
