Having hosted PATA in 2005 and 2010, this year delegates arrived into the new Taipa Ferry Terminal. For future PATA events Senna Fernandes looked forward to delegates using the upcoming Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which she called an important piece of architecture and a tourism attraction in itself, the Macau LRT (to be in service in 2019), a new border crossing between Zhuhai and Macau and an expanded airport.
Visiting Macau’s Cotai Strip during the PATA Travel Mart 2017, only the odd fallen tree or closed attraction revealed that three weeks ago Typhoon Hato swept through the SAR, devastating homes and businesses, and claiming lives.
“We are very grateful to you for being here, three weeks after the biggest typhoon in recorded history,” said the director of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes in her opening address to media at the.
“We are yet to recover completely, but the tourism industry is very resilient. It’s back to business and operations in more or less full swing.”
Senna Fernandes shared some upbeat statistics about the SAR too. Following some tough years Macau has bounced back, counting close to 31 million visitors in 2016 and so far this year 18.4 million, up 5.3% to July.
South Korea is the big news, with visitors up nearly 40% so far this year.
Having hosted PATA in 2005 and 2010, this year delegates arrived into the new Taipa Ferry Terminal. For future PATA events Senna Fernandes looked forward to delegates using the upcoming Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which she called an important piece of architecture and a tourism attraction in itself, the Macau LRT (to be in service in 2019), a new border crossing between Zhuhai and Macau and an expanded airport.
She called the upcoming mega-bridge an important connection to Hong Kong and China’s Pearl River Delta, not just for connectivity but also to further promote the cluster destination created by Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Tourism Marketing Organisation.
Macau has been diversifying for some time, encouraging hotels to offer more than gambling and rooms with new schemes like the Anim’Arte Nam Van sports, dining and performances area, permanent shows, festivals, sports events and more.
The focus on multi-destination trips to Guangdong and Hong Kong as well as Macau, will also play to this focus. “We are working with partners around the region so people can extend their stay, not just in Macau but within the cluster.”
A presentation on ‘The New Casino: Revenue Generation for a Changing Market Landscape’ by Drew Rosser, VP, Sales for SHR, noted “millennials aren’t into gambling”.
“They are interested in experiences. Gambling is, of course, still the biggest revenue generator (for casino resorts), but that revenue is declining while revenue associated with rooms is going up. You need a nice casino, but at the same time you need the ability to bring in talent from around the world.”
As if in answer, the upcoming MGM Cotai proudly showed off their new brochure of the jewellery box resort due to open fourth quarter of this year. Skyloft accommodation, the wow-factor Spectacle, the MICE-friendly MGM Theatre and four celebrity chefs helming four of their F&B outlets answer directly to experience over gambling.
Millennials, and travellers with a millennial mindset, will be impressed.
Senna Fernandes said that around 6,000 new hotel rooms across all stars are in the pipeline, including the MGM Cotai, Lisboa Palace and the currently delayed The 13.
While MICE still makes up a small portion of the inbound numbers, she cited 1,276 events bringing in 1.7 million delegates for last year.