Lee Buy Huy, CEO of Australia-listed Donaco International, has said he’s “confident” of the strength of its Aristo International Hotel at Lao Cai, near Vietnam’s border with China.
“We are confident in the long-term outlook for the business, Huy told the Vietnam Investment Review. “Vietnam has a lot of potential and we are confident that once borders reopen the situation will stabilize.”
Huy was appointed head of the company in September 2020, having previously served as vice president of casino at Donaco’s Star Vegas Casino & Resorts. At the time, he said his goal was to “bring the casinos to fully operational post-novel coronavirus and borders reopening. We will continue to execute our pragmatic cost control strategy.”
According to GGRAsia, Aristo International is near Vietnam’s border with China, and has historically served gamblers from the mainland. That patronage has been hampered by travel restrictions and Beijing’s enforcement action against “cross-border” gambling by the Chinese.
Star Vegas Resort and Club, Donaco’s flagship casino resort in Poipet, on Cambodia’s border with Thailand, has been closed since April 2021, due to the pandemic. Currently, the “main revenue driver for Aristo comprises the hotel and restaurant,” said Huy.
Vietnam recently announced it was reopening its international tourism market on a trial basis. Noting that local Vietnamese were forbidden to use most of the country’s casino resorts, the Donaco CEO said Aristo was trying to tap fresh sources of regional clientele.
Vietnam could fully reopen to international tourists within months after the country’s Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism, Nguyen Van Hung, said the government was targeting a April 30 end to border restrictions.
Speaking at a news conference this week, Nguyen said he was pleased with the results of a pilot scheme allowing some vaccinated travelers to visit dedicated parts of Vietnam, with 7,800 foreign tourists having arrived since the program launched in November. But he said the tourism sector needs more help to survive.
“We cannot wait so long, and April 30 will be the right time,” he said, according to a VietnamNet report.
“The pilot scheme has achieved initial encouraging results,” said Nguyen, indicating that “visitors are eager to return to Vietnam in safe conditions” and stating that “Vietnam is a safe destination in the region and the world.”
