Gaming | Hainan believed to pose little challenge to Macau

Operations related to gaming in Macau’s neighboring regions and countries are not believed to provide an adequate substitute for Macau, according to remarks made last week by a professor from the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).

Song Yu, an associate professor from the School of Business of MUST, said “neighboring regions or countries, if they carry out gaming businesses, won’t still be able to replace Macau because Macau has a deep cultural heritage and a long history [of gaming].”

In addition, the professor said that the Greater Bay Area plan would be of advantage to Macau.

“Regarding the future, I am optimistic as to the foreground of [Macau] customer consumption,” declared Song.

When questioned by the Times, Song replied that potential gaming operations in mainland China’s Hainan province will only have a small influence on Macau.

“I think there will be an impact of sorts, but it will not be too big. Hainan will open horse racing, or some marginal gambling modes,” said Song, adding, “these modes will not be influential at all. Horse racing is not Macau’s main gambling aspect. Macau is mainly about mass and VIP rooms.”

On the sidelines of this week’s forum featuring Macau tourism and leisure activities, which were held at MUST, Song talked about the paradigm of Macau’s tourist consumption, characteristics and trends.

“From our study, mainland tourists’ consumption power is continuously growing,” revealed Song, remarking that “the consumption of luxury goods, such as [jewelry], is higher than ordinary goods, such as souvenirs. Mainland tourists’ consumption power is sufficient.”

“We have concluded that [the reason for the abovementioned situation] is mainly […] mainland China’s normalization of anti-corruption actions, the rise of the RMB exchange rate, among other reasons, such as the prospect of the real estate market. These factors make mainland tourists’ consumption represent 80 percent of all tourism related consumption.”

Last week, MUST also launched a report into Macau’s tourism and leisure development. The report said that mainland tourists’ current satisfaction towards Macau is lower than that of 2017.

“The main reason might be related to the municipal development, as well as the typhoon [Hato], among others,” explained Song, suggesting that the local government should establish a mechanism to manage emergencies.

When discussing the reason behind the increased number of tourists and the decreased satisfaction towards Macau’s tourist offerings, Song believes that it relates to the fact that “Macau is small; its capacity is limited.”

Regarding the taxi industry, which also concerns the tourism sector, Song voiced that, in Macau, it has become a chronic issue, and that the government should enhance the training of taxi drivers as well as advance the city’s laws concerning the sector.