Recently, some Macau media pointed out that the Macau government asked casinos to stop providing free snacks, and Song Weijie, president of the Macau Responsible Gaming Association, also said that he had received relevant news.
At present, some casinos still provide free snacks, and some netizens shared that some casinos have raised the threshold for free collection, such as the need to open a membership card and save a certain number of points.
▲ Report on the suspension of free snacks in casinos (Source: Hong Kong media)
In this regard, some netizens disagreed, believing that Macau would lose a large number of tourists as a result; Some netizens also expressed their understanding, believing that this is the result of too many "white prostitution" strategies on social media.
In fact, on social platforms such as Xiaohongshu, there are a large number of outrageous travel strategies for Hong Kong and Macao, in order to achieve "0 yuan travel" and "not spend a penny", it can be said that everything is done......
0 yuan eating and drinking strategy
In order to reduce the food expenditure during the trip, various travel strategies for eating and drinking came into being.
One of the most popular "rubbing" destinations is the Macau casinos. Some netizens shared how to enjoy all kinds of food in the casino, including Ponte 16 providing free barbecued pork rice and pork chop buns; The Parisian Macao has gold leaf barbecued pork pastry, ice cream and gold leaf abalone tart; MGM COTAI sends Häagen-Dazs ice cream......
If you're in the middle of a casino purchase, try and experience snacks, and that's not too much.
However, under the guidance of posts such as "Teach you not to spend a penny to eat a full stomach in Macau" and "Who hasn't experienced XXX's bubble tea", some tourists deliberately go to entertainment venues to solve lunch and dinner, or just run all over the major casinos for free food, and do not make other consumption.
Therefore, some netizens speculated that the request for free food in casinos may be because it has affected the operation of other small and medium-sized enterprises in Macau.
In addition to casinos, Macau's Guanye Street and St. Paul's Souvenir Street have also become the hardest hit areas of the "eat and drink" strategy.
Some travelers try food for the sake of buying souvenirs, while others try food for the sake of tasting it. Some posts list which souvenir shops can eat without consumption, or teach tourists how to repeatedly visit multiple stores to taste food, offering a "white prostitute" guide.
Previously, when some Hong Kong media interviewed tourists in Macau, they asked why they preferred Macau over Hong Kong, and the tourists said "because it is better to taste here", which became the focus of discussion among netizens for a while.
Coincidentally, social platforms can also easily search for food and drink strategies in Hong Kong.
Since there are not many places in Hong Kong where you can eat and drink for free, Xiaohongshu bloggers have set their sights on Hong Kong's public welfare community canteens such as Ginkgo Biloba Ice House.
"Hong Kong also has a poor ghost package, 10 yuan a meal!" The eye-catching title has changed these restaurants from "no diners" to "a lot of people queuing".
Checking the official website of Ginkgo Biloba Ice House, we found that these community canteens are to help the local elderly re-enter the workforce on the one hand, and to provide low-cost meals to vulnerable groups on the other hand, such as street sleepers, elderly people living alone, poor students, low-income families, etc.
Some netizens are worried that these community canteens do not have the capacity to carry a large number of diners, and if many tourists go, they will crowd resources and affect those who are really in need.
In addition to food, free direct drinking water in Hong Kong and Macau has also been promoted on social platforms.
These free resources are set up by the government for local residents, and some netizens believe that it is not a big problem for tourists in need to use them when they pass by, but it is not necessary to make a strategy to attract tourists.
0 yuan accommodation guide
In addition to food, accommodation is also one of the necessary expenses for travel. In order to reduce or even avoid the expensive accommodation costs in Hong Kong and Macau, Xiaohongshu bloggers are also racking their brains.
Some bloggers summarized the places in Hong Kong and Macau where you can stay overnight for free, and these places are so varied that people are jaw-dropping.
Indoor venues, such as McDonald's, Internet cafes, cinemas, parking lots, casino lounges, etc., are often open 24 hours a day, and most of them charge little or no money.
There are more outdoor options, from the beach to the top of the mountain, from the underpass to the street, from the harbour to the pier, from the bridge to the tunnel, you can search the corresponding overnight strategy on the Internet.
Some of the posts also compare the advantages of different free overnight places, which is quite "intimate". For example, the benches in the park are ergonomic, the McDonald's can be recharged, and the Victoria Peak is cool.
In addition to the above overnight places, more bizarre ways to stay overnight have also been discovered by Xiaohongshu netizens.
For example, some netizens shared that the night tour Hong Kong double-decker bus launched in recent years is very suitable for overnight stays, only 55 Hong Kong dollars can be unlimited rides all night, and such double-decker buses are also equipped with WiFi and charging sockets.
Some netizens even recommended staying overnight at the university, forcing the school's official website to issue an announcement to clarify: tourists can only visit the university campus within the specified time, and cannot stay overnight on the campus, so as to avoid affecting the normal study and life of students.
▲Announcement of Hong Kong universities (Source: official website of Chinese University of Hong Kong)
What's even more outrageous is that some netizens recommended staying overnight in the emergency room of the hospital. Is this kind of behavior of occupying the medical resources of local residents really appropriate?
In addition to accommodation, you can also find many posts on Xiaohongshu on how to take a bath for free in Hong Kong and Macau.
Free bathing places involve gyms, swimming pools, stadiums, beaches and other places in Hong Kong and Macau, and these strategies guide tourists how to use these bathrooms for free without spending.
The Hong Kong government's public bathhouses for street sleepers have also been targeted by some bloggers, with one post summarizing the specific locations of 26 public bathhouses in Hong Kong.
However, these public baths are not suitable for tourists, on the one hand, the safety of this kind of bath is not high, some Hong Kong netizens pointed out that public baths are often mixed baths for men and women, and many homeless people use them; On the other hand, this kind of public bathhouse is a public welfare place for local homeless and street sleepers in Hong Kong, and the excessive use of tourists will also affect those who are really in need.
0 yuan travel and fun strategy
When it comes to transportation, Macau Fortune Car has also been hyped up by Xiaohongshu bloggers.
The Fortune Car is a marketing method for Macau casinos, which transports tourists to major casinos for free, so as to attract tourists to spend money in casinos, and also plays a role in transporting casino hotel guests.
However, under the guidance of social media posts, more and more tourists who have no intention of spending money in casinos are keen to take the fortune car to Macau's urban area. Recently, some netizens have also shared that some fortune cars can now only be taken by showing their check-in information.
Some netizens shared that when taking a taxi in Hong Kong, the suitcase is placed in the car instead of the trunk, which is to avoid paying a six-yuan luggage fee.
However, some Hong Kong netizens also commented under the post that the suitcase in the car does not comply with the regulations, and according to the taxi rules, the luggage needs to be paid even if it is placed in the car.
As for fun, sharing free check-in spots seems to get more click-through rates than attractions that charge a fee.
For example, the government office in Hong Kong is a popular Hong Kong check-in point on Xiaohongshu. Influenced by TVB dramas and Hong Kong movies, many mainlanders are interested in Hong Kong courts, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Hong Kong Police Station and other office spaces.
There are even posts that guide netizens on how to enter these buildings, such as going to the courtroom to observe the trial of a case.
Some tourists enter Hong Kong courts and other places under the guidance of Xiaohongshu, but because they do not understand the code of conduct of these places, they take pictures and make noise, which seriously affects the normal office order.
▲Hong Kong media reports
In addition, the abandoned Yau Ma Tei Police Station, the chaotic Chung Kong Mansion, and Victoria Harbour, where you can take photos of Li Ka-shing in the same pose, have also become hot check-in spots.
Why has Qway become fashionable?
In recent years, "poor travel" and "special forces tourism" have gradually become a trend on social platforms, which is undoubtedly a manifestation of consumption downgrade.
Students from the Department of Journalism of the School of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist University have concluded that mainland tourists' spending power in Hong Kong has significantly decreased after the reopening of the epidemic.
Although the Hong Kong government has launched a series of activities to stimulate mainland tourists to travel to Hong Kong. But the actual effect seems to be that Wangding is not prosperous.
▲Hong Kong New Year's Eve fireworks event (source: Internet)
What is even more worrying is that this phenomenon may also deepen misunderstandings and contradictions between mainland and Hong Kong and Macao residents.
Eating and drinking, and all kinds of white prostitution can easily arouse the negative impression of Hong Kong and Macao residents towards mainland tourists. On the Internet, many Hong Kong netizens can also be seen expressing their confusion about some behaviors of mainland tourists.
Under different budgets, it is everyone's freedom to choose how to travel, but the premise is that it should not affect the normal life of local residents.
Dear friends,
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