The density of resorts in Macau’s Cotai region went up substantially last week when Galaxy Entertainment’s Galaxy Macau opened to almost universal plaudits. The property opens in the midst of continued dramatic growth in the Macau gaming market. 

At Galaxy Macau, officials believe they are opening at exactly the right time. The integrated resort has been under construction—off and on—for more than five years. The property will change the playing field in Macau, says the company’s chairman and founder, Dr. Lui Che Woo.

“The Macau SAR government’s stated goal, in accordance with the 12th five-year plan, is to build for its economic future by diversifying its leisure and tourism industry,” Dr. Lui said. “We believe Galaxy Macau will lead this development by offering what has been missing so far from the local integrated property market,” says Lui. “From the beginning, our vision has been to develop and operate a resort that delivers both international-caliber standards but also captures the heartfelt service culture and unique flavor of Asia—something we call ‘World Class, Asian Heart.’ This is especially critical for success in a market where Asian travelers are so dominant. In this way, we can make guests from around the region feel right at home, whilst at the same time provide an authentic Asian resort experience for visitors from around the world as well.”    

Dr. Lui’s son, Francis Lui, the vice chairman of the Galaxy Entertainment Group, says the property’s Asian themes and brands are designed to appeal to the 97 percent of Macau visitors that come from Asia.

“We are very excited about the opening of Galaxy Macau, after years of inspired creation and hard work backed with a firm conviction that a project rooted in Asian ideals and delivered by Asian people could achieve the highest international standards,” said Francis Lui. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions of so many people, especially our talented and dedicated staff and our esteemed partners. We’re all very excited to open our doors to Macau and the world.”

Galaxy Macau includes three iconic Asian hotel brands: the 250 suites and 10 floating villas of the Banyan Tree Macau; the 500-room Hotel Okura Macau; and the 1,500-room Galaxy Hotel, which will become Galaxy Entertainment’s flagship Cotai hotel. Galaxy Macau also marks the entry into the Macau market for both the Singapore-based Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts and Okura Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Japan’s most prominent hotel company.    

Banyan Tree also brings with it the first Banyan Tree Spa in China’s Pearl River Delta. At 2,800 square meters, the Banyan Tree Spa Macau—the biggest in the Banyan Tree group—will include 21 treatment rooms as well as a private spa floor for its hotel guests.

At a total investment of HK$15.5 billion (US$2 billion), the 550,000-square-meter Galaxy Macau’s most prominent feature is the property’s spectacular 52,000-square-meter Grand Resort Deck. A 350-ton white sand beach frames the 4,000-square-meter Skytop Wave Pool—the world’s largest of its kind—which generates waves that reach as high as 1.5 meters. Several pools, tropical and Japanese gardens, a traditional Japanese tea pavilion and private cabanas will dot the Grand Resort Deck area, making it attractive for private and corporate functions.    

Galaxy Macau features more than 50 international dining outlets, with more than half of them serving Asian cuisines, making it the widest such selection in Macau under one roof. Visitors to Galaxy Macau can eat once a week for a year and never eat at the same restaurant twice.

Galaxy Macau’s in-house entertainment includes multiple live stages and clubs such as the ultra-exclusive China Rouge, a hybrid private membership club, performance theatre, bar and restaurant conceptualized by renowned Hong Kong designer Alan Chan to evoke a modern vision of 1930s Shanghai. In addition, Galaxy Macau plans a 9-screen, 3D, multi-function cinema theatre to open later this year. The theatre will be state-of-the-art and the first of its kind in Macau. The property will also feature a retail boulevard offering a unique shopping experience of Asian as well as international brands.    

On the gaming floor, Galaxy Macau is configured for 600 table games (although only 450 were in action at the opening) and 1,500 slot machines, as well as several luxurious VIP rooms.

The new resort will be a challenge for Galaxy. Although the company operates to StarWorld casino hotel in Macau’s Peninsula area, that property is largely just a casino (VIP focused) and hotel rooms, with a few restaurants sprinkled in. Galaxy Macau, on the other hand, has a wide range of non-gaming amenities that will require some experience to operate.

João Manuel Costa Antunes, the director of the Macau Government Tourist Office, says the resort is just the latest product that will result in more overnight and weekend stays in the SAR.

“We have under construction several thousand rooms, and we could see that more visitors decided to stay overnight in Macau,” he told the Macau Times. “The pattern of visitors in Macau has changed a lot.”

Francis Lui says his goal is to extend the Macau average 1.5-day stay. “Our aspirations are how to merge Phuket in Thailand with Macau,” Lui told CNN.

Lui believes that Galaxy Macau will quickly become a favorite of the Asian customer. The property’s theme—“World Class, Asian Heart”—means the company knows is customers, says Lui.    

“All facilities at Galaxy Macau are designed to appeal to guests from Asia and around the world who want to experience authentic Asian service culture and offerings,” he says.

Lui cites the hotel brands, the many Asian restaurants and Macau’s only private nightclub, China Rouge, as elements that will appeal to the company’s customers.    

“The casinos are specially designed to make our guests from Mainland China, Asia and around the world feel welcome and comfortable, and to stay longer in our property,” he says.

Lui points to the mass market as being crucial to the success of the property.    

“We believe, in the future, people will come to Macau for a holiday, not just for baccarat,” he says. “That is how Galaxy Macau is positioned. The number of visitors to Macau experienced double-digit growth year on year. The total visitations to Macau increased by 15 percent to 25 million in 2010. We expect a further 10 percent to 20 percent growth this year is attainable. Our goal is to make the pie bigger by offering a new and unique integrated resort to the visitors, to extend their average length of stay and spending in our properties. We expect the average duration of stay will be extended from 1.5 days to 2.5 days.

“We are confident that the wide variety of entertainment offerings of Galaxy Macau will attract a new and different type of tourists to the city, especially from the Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Asia and Southeast Asia by leveraging our customer base with our hotel partners: Banyan Tree and Okura. The improved accessibility to Macau will stimulate more visitations to Macau.”

Jonathan Galaviz, the principal in Galaviz Company, a U.S.-Asian consulting firm, thinks the new property positions Galaxy Entertainment to really capitalize on the mass market.    

“I've been saying for over 10 years now that the real market opportunity for Macau in the long-run is the mass-market, the upper-middle-class Mainland Chinese consumer,” he says.

Sean Monaghan is senior analyst covering Southeast Asia consumer and gaming for HSBC. He believes the addition of Galaxy Macau will be an overall positive for the region.

    
“The resort has great mass-market products, and the opening should drive further mass market tourism to Macau,” he says “While the mass market is growing strongly, the VIP segment continues to experience much stronger growth.    

Galaxy Macau hasn’t forgotten the VIP market, however. Lui says the property is well configured to host those customers, as well as mass-market guests.

“The VIP segment is very important to us,” he says. “StarWorld is a VIP-centric property and it has recorded 11 consecutive quarters of EBITDA growth. That proves our strategy is correct, and more importantly, the quality of our services is guaranteed.    

“As the wealth effect continues in China, growth prospects in VIP gaming will remain solid. And therefore we will continue to focus on and strive for excellence in the VIP segment.”

Lui downplays the possibility that Galaxy Macau may cannibalize play at the company’s Peninsula flagship, StarWorld.

“StarWorld’s success is a direct result of its great location, great products and best service in town,” he says. “We are confident that StarWorld’s competitive edges will help StarWorld continue to perform solidly and continue to be a leader in Macau in the future.    

“Moreover, we have signed new junket operators for Galaxy Macau. We are very confident all our junket operators can deliver what they committed to us and will not cannibalize StarWorld. We believe there is plenty of demand in Macau, and the market is only likely to continue to get bigger.”

By Staff