Association confident about future entertainment prospects

Income from pop concerts has returned to 2019 levels, implying a swift rebound, Che Fok Sang, executive director of Macau Federal Commercial Association of Convention & Exhibition Industry, said.

For instance, the upcoming concert series of Hong Kong pop divo Jacky Cheung which will kick-off in June, has at most 30,000 more tickets for sale than his previous concert series in Macau, which was held in 2018.

Meanwhile, despite the strong demand, Che does not expect Cheung will be able to add more shows. For one thing, his schedule is tight. For another, the venue – the Cotai Arena at the Venetian Macao, has already been booked after Cheung’s shows for other events.

He understood this as a reflection of a soaring market, as he told local media Macao Daily News.

Elaborating on the situation, he disclosed that many performers and event hosts were ready to relocate their events to Macau. The first reason is that venues in Hong Kong are in high demand, and the second is that Macau has better auxiliary facilities around its venues, such as accommodation and restaurants.

Despite the commendations, Che pointed out that additional workers are required to accommodate these extra events while retaining an acceptable service standard. Those with experience are most preferred and Hong Kong has a squad of them. However, the costs of the workforce will inevitably increase.

Discussing the potential effects of pop concerts, Che revealed that some businesspeople were reluctant to visit Macau for business. However, they would be attracted by the stars they liked. In certain scenarios, business deals were even closed.

It was also revealed that June is normally a low season, but with Cheung’s concerts, hotel bookings have also gone up to an unexpected level. Che added that as far as he knew, there will also be international stars staging shows in Macau in the second half of the year.