Donaco celebrates airport plans near Aristo casino in Vietnam
The Vietnamese Government has approved the construction of Sapa airport in Lao Cai, the region where Aristo is located.
Australia.- Donaco chairman Porntat Amatavivadhana has welcomed plans for the development of a new airport near its Aristo International Hotel in Lao Cai. Speaking during an overview of Donaco International’s performance in 2021, he noted that the airport offers a huge opportunity for the Aristo casino.
Sapa airport will be built over the next three to four years and will have a capacity for 1.5 million passengers a year. The project aims to help the local economy recover after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Amatavivadhana said: “This presents a major opportunity for our Aristo casino to attract a significant number of new customers.”
Authorities in Vietnam have said they hope to fully open the country to international tourists by the end of April to boost the tourism industry.
As for Donaco’s financial results, Amatavivadhana said 2021 was a challenging year for the company as its Star Vegas casino in Cambodia was closed from 27 April 2021 and the Aristo casino in Vietnam open only on a limited basis since 8 May 2020. The casino operator reported net revenue of AU$10.32m for fiscal year 2021 and negative EBITDA of AUD70,000 (US$52,274).
However, Amatavivadhana remained confident about Donaco’s prospects for the future. He said: “Strong vaccination rates in the region where we operate have led the governments of both Thailand and Cambodia to target the easing of border and travel restrictions in February 2022, with the Thai Government announcing that from 1 February 2022 quarantine-free travel vaccinated arrivals will commence.”
