Macau seeks to expand non-gambling options

According to the Secretary for Economy and Finance, the territory plans to increase non-gaming attraction to diversify the tourism industry.

Macau.- The Chinese territory of Macau has become famous for its gaming industry and one of the largest casino markets in the world. However, the government has said that it will look into non-gaming options to diversify the tourism industry in the city.

Lionel Leong Vai Tac, Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, explained that a potential expansion of further options in the territory has the potential, not only to boost the industry as a whole, but to help the casino segment as well.

The Chinese region continues to benefit from the gaming industry, as casino figures for Macau reported a 4.4% gross gaming revenue (GGR) during last month. The figure was helped by the Chinese New Year celebrations, which brought further visitors into the territory.

However, February’s result drove the market to a 0.5% decline on the accumulated 2019 year-on-year, down €5.47 billion.

“On a combined basis, January/February 2019 was flat year-on-year,” and added: “The January/February 2018 period saw year-on-year growth of 20 percent setting up a difficult year-on-year comparison,” Sanford C. Bernstein analysts said.

Union Gaming Securities Asia analyst Grand Govertsen added: “The timing of Chinese New Year (CNY) should have, in theory, benefited this year. Based on our on-the-ground observations, and given robust foot traffic trends, it appears that mass market came through for operators and growth of this segment likely remains in the low double digits.”