Low-altitude economy takes off

Macau Business magazine l March 2026

As mainland China drives forward the development of the low-altitude economy, Macau is climbing aboard. Dedicated regulation and closer regional coordination will be pivotal to ensuring the SAR can take off effectively

By Tony Lai

RMB1.5 trillion
– Estimated size of low-altitude economy in China in 2025

During the recent Lunar New Year break, one of Macau’s crowd-pleasers returned: fireworks that turned the city’s skyline into a temporary light show. This year brought a novelty. For the first time, Macau paired the pyrotechnics with a drone display in a choreographed programme featuring 3,888 drones sweeping across the night sky.

The spectacle is more than showmanship. Beyond fireworks, the government has been pushing to deploy drones in everyday settings under the banner of the “low-altitude economy”, which mainland China has positioned as a new engine of growth. Yet for Macau to realise its aerial ambitions, it must overcome hurdles such as regulation and coordination.

The low-altitude economy covers commercial activity in low-level airspace — defined on the mainland as up to 1,000 metres above ground — using civil manned and unmanned aircraft. This spans everything from drones to electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, applied to passenger transport, cargo logistics, surveying and inspection, agriculture and more.

China’s policy push in the area has tracked the rise of its corporate champions such as Shenzhen’s DJI and Guangzhou-based EHang. In 2021, Beijing incorporated the low-altitude economy into a national transport network plan. In 2024, it went further, describing the sector for the first time as “a major new engine of economic growth” and providing cues for provincial and municipal governments to accelerate development.

With that backing, analysts increasingly see China setting the global pace in the low-altitude economy. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) projects the sector’s domestic market could reach RMB1.5 trillion (US$217.1 billion/MOP1.75 trillion) in 2025 and RMB3.5 trillion by 2035. Brokerage Bank of America, by contrast, estimates that the rest of the world combined (excluding China) will amount to roughly US$11.5 billion (MOP92.7 billion) in 2025, rising to US$51.25 billion by 2035.

“… Macau will explore efficient models for using its limited airspace resources to actively promote new low-altitude economy activities”
Macau Economic and Technological Development Bureau

New taskforce

Given the national drive, Macau is also trying to hitch itself to that trajectory. The government has set up a Low-Altitude Economy Development Task Force to implement the national strategy and, in the process, support the city’s long-running effort to diversify away from gaming. The group is coordinated by the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) and includes 12 other departments, among them the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau, the Macau Government Tourism Office and the Public Security Police Force.

“Developing the low-altitude economy is a major national strategic initiative, and an important direction for fostering new quality productive forces for economic transformation and upgrading,” said Yau Yun Wah, head of DSEDT, at the taskforce’s first meeting last year. “Building on Macau’s role as an international aviation hub and its achievements in conserving world-heritage sites, Macau will explore efficient models for using its limited airspace resources to actively promote new low-altitude economy activities.”

That, he added, would not only inject momentum into local economic diversification, but also open a new avenue for deeper integration with neighbouring Hengqin and for participation in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area development.

Nonetheless, little of substance has emerged since the taskforce was formed last year. Even so, it has promised to convene exchanges among government bodies to streamline approvals for drone flights, broaden use cases and air routes, tighten safety oversight and protect privacy. DSEDT also said the taskforce will draft laws and regulations for managing the low-altitude economy that fit Macau’s circumstances, giving the industry firmer support to make better use of scarce airspace.

“Although Macau has in recent years gradually explored pathways for developing the low-altitude economy through drone shows, support for the sector remains inadequate—above all the legal framework”
Legislator Si Ka Lon

Dedicated regulations

“Although Macau has in recent years gradually explored pathways for developing the low-altitude economy through drone shows, support for the sector remains inadequate—above all the legal framework,” says legislator Si Ka Lon. He argues that the city’s air navigation rules impose “overly stringent” requirements on drones, covering weight, specifications and operator qualifications, and in turn narrowing what drones can be used for in Macau.

With its concentration of world-heritage sites and dense urban fabric, large swathes of the city are no-fly zones on safety grounds. For now, drone activity in Macau is largely confined to entertainment displays, commercial aerial photography, and surveying and inspection.

Across the border, the picture is broader. “In mainland China, the low-altitude economy has been developing rapidly on the back of policy support with technological innovation and a wide range of application scenarios in emergency rescue, logistics delivery, entertainment and tourism,” Mr Si adds.

As Macau’s new Civil Aviation Law took effect in February, he argues the authorities should use the moment to deepen work on legal and technical standards, pilot scenarios and business models for the low-altitude economy. He also points to other concerns: airspace does not stop at the border. Given Macau’s high population density and rising drone activity nearby, he says the city needs more effective coordination mechanisms with neighbouring jurisdictions.

Samuel Tong Kai Chung, president of the Macau Institute of Management, likewise stresses the need for a framework tailored to low-altitude activity. “A robust safety regulatory framework is vital,” he says. “Existing standards for general and commercial aviation cannot be fully applied to the low-altitude economy. Dedicated regulatory standards, systems and laws need to be developed specifically for the sector.”

For its part, the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau has offered little beyond generalities. In a statement last year, it said regulation is intended to ensure safe operations within Macau’s limited airspace, protect obstacle-free flight paths for aircraft, and safeguard lives and property. “On the basis of ensuring safety, we will continue to study the latest technical standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization and make reference to regulatory amendments adopted by neighbouring regions in response to developments in drone technology,” it added.

Meanwhile, the mainland has yet to put in place a standalone legal and regulatory framework for the low-altitude economy, leaving only interim rules on unmanned aircraft flight management in force. For now, it has also classified electric low-altitude aircraft, including eVTOLs, under general aviation regulations, a move that could constrain the sector’s development. Internationally, broadly applicable rules for low-altitude aircraft such as eVTOLs have yet to emerge.

“On the basis of such standardisation [in low-altitude activities], Macau could work with other Greater Bay Area cities to promote Chinese standards internationally”
Scholar Samuel Tong Kai Chung

Align with “1+4”

Mr Tong notes that drones are already commonplace on the mainland in inspection work, urban management, customs and border surveillance, building inspections, firefighting and delivery services. These applications replace slow or hazardous manual tasks, and Macau, he argues, can draw on those lessons.

Handled sensibly, drones could also fit Macau’s “1+4” diversification strategy, he adds, which seeks to develop four growth sectors alongside tourism and gaming. These include modern finance; big health; high technology; and conventions, exhibitions, commerce, culture and sport.

Tourism is the obvious entry point. Drones already feature in entertainment, as the recent Lunar New Year display demonstrated, and Macau could explore developing manned low-altitude sightseeing experiences to enhance the city’s tourism appeal, the scholar said. Drone sports, such as drone football, are also gaining ground on the mainland and elsewhere, providing another potential niche for the city.

“Technologies such as drone chips can be deeply integrated with the city’s push into high technology,” Mr Tong illustrates. “Macau could also host more drone-focused events like industry exhibitions and conferences to bolster its cultural tourism and convention sectors.”

Regional cooperation

Chitin Hon, an associate professor in the Department of Engineering Science at the Macau University of Science and Technology, said that Macau’s comparative advantage is unlikely to lie in trying to outcompete the mainland in hardware or scale. A more plausible role, he said, is as a platform: helping mainland low-altitude-economy firms venture into overseas markets, and contributing to the shaping of international standards.

The academic, who is also a delegate to the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, has recently proposed to the province’s top political advisory body that Macau and neighbouring Hengqin jointly develop a low-altitude unmanned-aircraft inspection and certification centre. Such a facility would provide testing and validation services for relevant equipment in the sector.

Officials are already signalling an appetite for closer regional coordination. In December, DSEDT representatives attended a Greater Bay Area conference on low-altitude economic development held in Guangzhou, intended to deepen cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.

On the sidelines, DSEDT signed two cooperation memoranda with authorities in Guangzhou and Zhuhai, aimed at establishing a standing regional mechanism for low-altitude-economy collaboration. The agreements cover alignment of technical standards, coordination of safety regulation, exploration of new application scenarios and cooperation along the industrial chain. The three sides will also explore pilot projects in cross-boundary logistics, emergency rescue and urban management, DSEDT said, to accelerate the deployment of low-altitude technologies in real-world settings.

On cooperation between Macau and the mainland, Mr Tong says efforts should focus on advancing standardisation in areas including technical standards for drones and eVTOL vehicles, qualification certification for operators and credentialing for maintenance personnel. “On the basis of such standardisation, Macau could work with other Greater Bay Area cities to promote Chinese standards internationally,” he notes.

Expanding use cases for low-altitude activity will also test the labour market, he adds, as drone operations typically require different tiers of licences, while maintenance demands specialised technicians. “Qualified operators and repair staff are in short supply nationwide, and Macau may need to build out its own training system or cooperate with other Greater Bay Area cities to secure a steadier pipeline,” he remarks.

Macau and the mainland could also jointly launch cross-border pilot projects in smart logistics, emergency response and urban management programmes using low-altitude economy technologies. “This will inject fresh impetus into Macau’s drive to diversify its economy,” he concludes.