MGS | Operators pledge to increase product offerings

Aspect of the MGS Entertainment Show

Gaming operators have pledged to provide more differentiated products to their consumers in a bid to boost tourism development in the Greater Bay Area.

In a session held yesterday as part of the MGS Summit 2018, representatives from three gaming operators expressed their continuous interest in diversifying the development of the tourist market.

Maggie Ma, chief government affairs officer at Melco Resorts & Entertainment, noted that it is their goal to narrow the gap between Macau and Hong Kong in order to further attract tourists.

“This is a general trend. I believe that [the] integrated resorts [will] differentiate [our] products and will go beyond our previous efforts,” adding that integrated resorts would work closely with the government to increase their competitiveness.

“The Macao Government Tourism Office encourages [us] to stand on a higher level to see the big picture. We are a team and we need to communicate with each other and make use of current platform so as to provide more differentiated products and features,” said the executive.

According to Ma, enhancing young talents would also increase the competitiveness of the city’s entertainment offers, adding that cultivation of the younger generation has also been a priority in the Greater Bay Area.

“I do believe that other integrated resorts will follow the same trend, to have more interactions [with the youngsters]. We need to keep moving forward and to make changes and […] cultivate our trend in young talents. I think the young people need to look broader and look for more opportunities,” said Ma.

Echoing the same sentiments, Jason Ni, executive director at Wynn Macau, hoped that its two integrated resorts could further work with local students to gain a better understanding of what it offers.

Commenting on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, Ni, who is also a professor, said that the bridge would spur tourists to change their traveling routes, along with the number of tourist arrivals in Macau.

In this matter, Ni is looking into the customers’ behavioral changes and making adjustments according to the tourist needs.

Meanwhile, Serene Chia, vice president of SJM Cotai’s Brand Development and Marketing, implied that integrated resorts should understand the city’s national objectives to fully embrace their participation in the Greater Bay Area.

Although it is still to early to comment on whether there is an increase in the number of tourist arrivals at its integrated resorts, Chia said that the SAR needs to be able to handle and control the capacity of its visitors to avoid any congestion or inefficiency in the city’s transportation system.

“Any inefficiency in transportation in the city is not going to make the city attractive for both residents and tourists. I believe authorities in the transportation department [are] working hard to find the balance between [these] business objectives and city planning objectives,” said Chia.

The executive added that “this whole destination is not going to work and we will see more negative feedback,” if the city fails to find its balance between offering a better transportation system for both tourists and residents.  LV

Tourism office discusses luggage restriction with DSAT

THE DIRECTOR of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Helena de Senna Fernandes, has said that the Transportation Bureau’s (DSAT) is determined to solve the luggage limit issue for passengers traveling on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Speaking yesterday at the summit, the official said that the bureau had met with the DSAT to discuss concerns regarding the luggage and cash restrictions.  “Some issues cannot be solved immediately,” said the tourism chief. “But they will work on that to solve some part of the problem and Macau will take the proactive initiatives to solve those issues. […] I believe here will be some breakthroughs.” According to the official, both the MGTO and DSAT discussed the matter on Tuesday.