Macau, China, April 10, 2025 (Lusa) - Macau Tourism Services (MGTO) director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said on Thursday that the region is paying attention to the potential impact on Chinese tourists' confidence of the tariffs imposed by the United States.
US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a 90-day suspension of what he called "reciprocal tariffs", including a base tariff of 10% for all countries except China, on which he imposed total tariffs of 125%.
"At the moment we're watching what's happening. Of course, we must always be vigilant," acknowledged Senna Fernandes.
Hours earlier, the Macau Studies Centre and the Economics Department of the University of Macau (UM) revised downwards the forecast for the region's economic growth in 2025, to 6.8%, 1.1 percentage points less than the previous forecast, made in January.
Project coordinator and economist Kwan Fung said the downward revision was due to the decline in visitor consumption and "US tariffs on the world", something that "has an indirect impact on Macau's economy".
Kwan said that the tariffs would "affect the growth of all economies, especially the consumption of tourists from mainland China".
Macau Research Centre researcher Chan Chi Shing warned that the tariffs would have a "huge impact on the Chinese economy" and could force many factories and companies to close down, leading to fewer people visiting the region.
The director of the MGTO said that she "does not yet" fear a reduction in the number of tourists in Macau, but acknowledged that "the situation could change".
"If necessary, we have to adjust our promotion. So far, we are continuing our promotion, which we had already planned," explained Senna Fernandes.
The new leader of Macau's government, Sam Hou Fai, will present his first Government Action Guidelines for 2025 on Monday.
However, Senna Fernandes said that the priority in the tourism sector will continue to be "attracting international tourists", participating in fairs abroad, and organising activities in the territory.
The MGTO director recalled that Macau would be hosting the European Confederation of Associations of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators' biannual meeting in June and the Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies and Tourism (APAVT) annual congress in December.
Senna Fernandes said APAVT is also organising a European delegation of "around 20 people" to participate in the 13th Macau International Tourism (Industry) Expo (MITE) from 25 to 27 April.
Portugal will have its own space at MITE, which will also include, for the first time, the "Coffee Station" section, to "highlight the characteristics of Portuguese-speaking countries", she said.
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Lusa
