MACAO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- "Three, two, one! Happy New Year!" Cheered crowds gathering at a music festival by the Sai Van Lake in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on New Year's Eve.
This was one of the several joyful celebrations taking place in the city to welcome 2023, a year of hope for many as they expect a better economy, more job opportunities and chances for traveling faraway.
"It is really exciting to welcome the New Year together with friends," said a Macao resident surnamed Hui. "2023 is full of expectations."
At around the same time, Macao resident with the surname of Cheng drove his Macao-registered vehicle with a single local licence plate across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge border port to arrive in neighboring Zhuhai, Guangdong Province in southern China.
This was the first such vehicle to drive into Guangdong thanks to a new policy allowing Macao vehicles with single local licence plates to enter Guangdong. Previously, only vehicles with special dual licence plates were allowed to drive between the two sides.
"My friends in Zhuhai are waiting for me to celebrate the New Year together," said Cheng, full of excitement. "It's more convenient for me to do business in Guangdong in the future and make road trips to more places in the Chinese mainland."
For the city's many restaurants and retailers, the New Year started with a bless of customers, many of whom were tourists, indicating a better time ahead after three years of the COVID-19 pandemic that dealt a heavy blow to the local economy.
At around three o'clock in the morning on the first day of 2023, a restaurant on a main road of Macao was still crowded with customers, who sat in or outside the facility, drinking and singing together.
"We even had to turn down some customers because we were really overwhelmed," said the restaurant owner. "We are really tired, but really happy. Perhaps it's time to expand the shop and hire more help."
Crowds also returned to Macao's major tourist spots such as the landmark Ruins of St. Paul's and the Largo do Senado square, many of whom were Mandarin-speaking tourists.
"I didn't expect so many people," said a tourist surnamed Zhang from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. "I just bought some local specialties for my family and friends. I still have a long shopping list to cross off."
In front of a famous egg tart store on Coloane Island, customers lined up in long queues. "It's well worth waiting," said a tourist from Shanghai, who plans to take a good bite of Macao's long list of delicious foods.
The latest statistics from the Macao Government Tourism Office showed the number of inbound tourists had been gradually climbing. On Saturday, the day before the New Year, a total of 28,100 visitors entered Macao, the daily highest number since the National Day on Oct. 1, 2022.
The office has been dedicated to promoting Macao as a safe destination for mainland tourists for the past three years during the pandemic. Now, with eased travel restrictions for tourists from other places, particularly Hong Kong, a traditional tourist source for Macao before the pandemic, the office is working to expand tourist sources to help with tourism recovery.
The office said it has started working with counterparts in Hong Kong to offer preferential tour packages covering transport and accommodation, aiming to attract high consumption tourists to boost community economy.
Ricky Tse, deputy chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, voiced his confidence that Macao will become a popular destination for tourists from Hong Kong and other places worldwide. ■
