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Summary:
- Macau’s Tourism Office has backed casino operators for their efforts to bring in more foreigners
- The goal is to get a 10 percent tourist percentage from international countries
- Casino operators are doing road shows in countries like Thailand, Portugal and South Korea
Macau built its reputation as being the biggest gambling hub in the world as it home to some of the biggest casino operators in the world. Since COVID-19, the gambling industry in Macau has witnessed a huge decline in revenues and Macau casino operators are looking for ways to get back to pre-COVID numbers.
Macau Tourism Backs Gambling Operators Efforts
One of the ways Macau’s six casino concessionaires are doing this is by focusing some of their efforts on overseas visitors. Macau gaming operators have in the past depended heavily on the VIP gambling sector which used to contribute over 50 percent of gross gaming revenues (GGR).
The VIP sector comprised mostly of rich Chinese nationals who would visit Macau on a regular basis and spend millions at the casinos. However, once Macau cracked down on junket operators and VIP gamblers, the VIP sector collapsed and Macau has since been depending heavily on mass market players and its non-gaming offerings.
Macau’s casino operators are now targeting international visitors and those efforts have received the backing of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the MGTO shared some stats and stated what the immediate goals of the MGTO.
Fernandes said before the pandemic, stats from 2019 shows that Macau had received around 39.4 million visitors and the bulk of those visitors were from China. Stats show that 92.2 percent came in from Greater China and the remaining numbers came in from countries like Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and South Korea.
Fernandes said the immediate goal of the tourism industry was to push to get international visitors to around 10 percent of the total annual market share and was happy that gaming operators were doing their part to bring in more visitors.
Gaming Operators Holding Road Shows Overseas
Macau’s casino operators have started holding road shows in overseas markets like Portugal, Thailand and South Korea. The casino operators partner with the tourism initiatives of the MGTO and use their wide network to target foreign tourists to experience both their gaming and non-gaming activities in Macau.
