People in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) are upbeat that the easing of travel regulations by the central government will boost recovery of domestic travel and tourism as travelers will no longer be required to present a COVID-19 test result starting Sunday.

As the new policy takes effect, Macao residents, as well as tourists were seen waiting to pass through customs clearance early in the morning on Sunday.

"I feel a kind of relief and it is quite convenient now," said a local resident surnamed Deng.

A series of optimized measures facilitating personnel exchanges between the Macao SAR and the Chinese mainland has made people in the region full of confidence as they anticipate that the move will bring about a much-needed rebound of the tourism sector.

Hu Jingguang, president of Macao's Travel Industry Council, said that the tourism industry has been highly motivated by the exemption of COVID-19 test results.

"People in the tourism industry are very excited as everyone sees that prospects are bright. Some hotels in Macao have a 90 percent reservation rate for the Chinese Lunar New Year and it is believed that the average occupancy rate during the Golden Week will reach 80 to 90 percent. I believe this is the best Golden Week since the outbreak, and it will be a good start in 2023," said Hu.

In addition to the hotel industry, small and medium-sized shops in the Macao tourist area have also prepared sufficient goods and manpower to welcome the upcoming Spring Festival Golden Week after the nucleic acid exemption policy.

"We have supplies and I think our business looks promising as there will be more tourists during the Spring Festival. I am so happy," said Leung Kwai Chi, a dessert shop owner in Macao.