Thus, economically speaking, not only have the Little Three Links not brought in big-spending business travelers and mainland tourists, they have allowed Matsu residents to take a lot of their own consumer purchasing to the PRC, where everything is much cheaper.
期待中的大陸旅遊潮和過境台商絡繹不絕的景象並沒有出現，而貨運量受制於准予入境的開放項目與在地居民的需求不符，也始終在谷底盤旋。就經濟上而言，小三通反而讓馬祖人將大量消費移往物價更便宜的對岸。