As the Chinese mainland’s five-day Labour Day holiday begins today, residents in Macau are bracing for an influx of visitors, with opinions split between optimism over economic benefits and concern over daily disruptions.
Speaking to the Post yesterday, some of the residents highlighted traffic congestion, transport difficulties and crowd pressure as their main concerns during the holiday period.
For 23-year-old Ling, a university student, she pointed to the strain on mobility across the city. “My biggest concern during the Labour Day holiday in Macau is how hard it is to manage the visitor rush. Traffic gets very congested, and taxis can be difficult to get, especially because they may prefer picking up passengers from the Chinese mainland. There’s little I can do about it once tourism spikes”.
Meanwhile a freelance photographer surnamed Lei, 22, had a similar concern, noting both the vibrancy and inconvenience brought about by the holiday surge. “Honestly, my expectations for Labour Day in Macau are a bit mixed. On one hand, I know the city will be buzzing with visitors and the tourism sector does a great job, so the energy can be exciting”, Lei said, adding that he’s also bracing for the crowds. “I expect huge numbers of tourists from the mainland, which means packed buses and long taxi queues. But sometimes it feels like the priority is on the visitors, and it gets a little hard for us just trying to go about our daily lives”.
Others also reflected on how ongoing events may influence visitor distribution. For instance, a university graduate surnamed Pun, 21, said that tourists from the mainland may have more choices for travel destinations this time due to the second week of the craft market being held in Praça do Tap Siac and the Vivienne Westwood exhibition at Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai. “I hope they can support more local artists work”, Pun said, pointing out that she expects “almost the same thing as last year, with almost no changes aside from the Westwood exhibition”.
For those working in the service industry, the holiday brings a different set of expectations. Steve, 29, noted that the period is often more demanding than relaxing. “I actually expect the Labour Day holiday to be busier rather than relaxing. For those of us in service jobs, it usually means more work instead of a break”, he said, adding that it’s good for business and income, especially for people in tourism and retail, but at the same time, the workload can be quite heavy. “Personally, I just hope things are well-organised, like transport and crowd control, so work runs smoothly”, Steve noted.
Pedestrians walk near the city’s main square, Largo de Senado, yesterday afternoon, ahead of the five-day Chinese mainland’s Labour Day holiday which begins today. – Photo: Khalel Vallo
