The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Macao. From tourism lockdown to tourism recovery

Macao was one of the first cities outside China to start a gradual tourism lockdown in January 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Although critical to Macao’s economy, tourism had essentially ceased by March 2020, as the city closed its borders to regional and foreign arrivals. This paper presents the key policy and health measures since Macao’s first coronavirus case in January. The city had recorded no coronavirus cases in the city in early March, but saw a second wave of imported coronavirus cases mostly as residents and non-resident workers returned from overseas. At the request of government, over 10% of Macao’s hotel room inventory had been allocated as quarantine hotels. The ‘top-down’ approach by government meant stringent policy measures consisting of border closures and health advisories were actioned immediately to stem the spread of coronavirus. The economic consequences to the casino industry, which supplies 85% of the government’s total tax revenues, have been dramatic, as casino revenues continue to spiral downwards by over 80% in both February and March. This paper presents Macao’s reaction to the coronavirus in a three-wave analogy. It is argued that the recovery wave should move to public-private consolidation and collaboration.