One of the major presentations at this year’s Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE) was a 15-minute discussion titled Wings of the GBA: New Horizons in Cultural Tourism which touched on an innovation that could change the global traffic situation for good: the rise of the low-altitude economy.
In the context of China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA), a swathe that covers the special autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macao as well as the mainland province of Guangdong, the emergence of low-altitude solutions could significantly reduce travel time into and out of the region whilst reducing road congestion and pollution.
It may be recalled that, in December of last year, Hong Kong transport czar Mable Chan opined that a seamless airspace between the former Crown colony and its GBA neighbours could pave the way for both economic growth and tourism development, benefiting practically everyone within the Area.
As such, this low-altitude economy would involve the use of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles as airborne taxis to help commuters get to their destinations faster, along with the use of unmanned drones as a takeaway service for food and grocery delivery, as well as online shopping platforms.
While this speaks well of how such innovations will improve daily living for residents, tourism professionals have to ask: what would their widespread application mean for travel in the GBA?
Less time on the road, more time to explore
Think about it: theoretically, the use of eVTOLs could drastically cut the travel time between mainland cities Shenzhen and Zhuhai from a wearying two hours to just 20 minutes.
Relevant personal travel tech along the same lines will also mean shorter trips for those commuting between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao for work or leisure, enabling them to enjoy the view without the stress of being stuck on the road in a jam.
For tour operators, low-altitude excursions could also prove to be a money-spinner, especially with the industry’s current thrust towards more personal approaches to travel.
Two-seater eVTOLs, for example, have just room enough for a pilot / guide and the tourist who gets an overhead view of the destination in grand style, as well as a route that specifically goes to their attractions of choice without needing to go through the tedium of a guided group tour.
Given how both Macao and Hong Kong have limited airspace, the low-altitude economy enables them to make the most out of shared skies with their mainland neighbours, allowing tour operators to craft broader, farther-reaching itineraries to give their clients the best of what the GBA has to offer.
As of press time, plans are already being drawn up and implemented regarding the logistics involved in making low-altitude travel more of a way of life rather than a novelty, including the integration of related technologies into existing transportation hubs, as well as the conversion of spaces into attractions easily accessible via low-altitude vehicles.
Challenges to widespread adoption and implementation
As with everything new, of course, there will be barriers sidetracking the full development of the GBA’s low-altitude economy.
The most major of these is effective implementation of everything from system capability to data integration into public platforms.
According to Lin Yutian, a board director at the Guangdong Low Altitude Economy Development Co Ltd: “What companies care about most is not a single technical issue, but a systemic alignment of airspace, legal frameworks and regulatory regimes.”
In an interview with Macao Magazine last February, Lin explained that demand for low-altitude solutions within the GBA centres on low-altitude logistics; public service delivery, especially in the event of emergencies or critical maintenance of utilities; and tourism and travel services.
Guangdong is already well ahead in their preparations as they laid down their groundwork and saw their government-run drone management platform go online in December 2025.
That said, Guangdong’s low-altitude economy has a working and unified flight network management system that handles demand coordination as well as airspace grid allocation.
However, with both Hong Kong and Macao scrambling to catch up, it may take a while before the low-altitude economy really takes off within the GBA, no pun intended.
Nevertheless, such innovations were little more than figments of the imagination only seen in animation and science fiction not too long ago; now, we are seeing it become science fact.
