Expecting 300K visitors a year
The Greek-controlled republic of Cyprus, future home of Melco Resorts’ City of Dreams Mediterranean, has become the 29th member of the European Casino Association. The investiture took place at ICE London on February 5.
In a statement, the ECA said Cyprus passed the organization’s “strict membership requirements” and signed its code of conduct. The new resort is a project of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. and Cyprus Phassouri (Zakaki). The integrated resort, which reportedly will be the largest of its kind in Europe, will open its doors in 2021. A temporary casino and four satellites are already in operation.
The €550 million (US$623.5 million) resort is expected to attract 300,000 tourists to Cyprus and create 6,500 jobs.
“We are delighted to join the European Casino Association at this crucial time and represent Cyprus,” said Craig Ballantyne, property president of City of Dreams Mediterranean. “In the current phase of establishing City of Dreams Mediterranean as Europe’s first-ever integrated casino resort, this is a great time to establish connections with Europe’s licensed land-based casino industry and work on best practices across all areas. We very much look forward to welcoming the industry to Cyprus to present our exciting project.”
