Macau’s casino concessionaires are obligated to increase the Chinese special administrative region’s (SAR) non-gaming attractions as part of their new 10-year concessions, which began on January 1.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the plan centers on the southern coast of the Macau peninsula, near casino resorts including Sands Macau, MGM Macau and Wynn Macau.
The Macau Peninsula South Coastal Green Corridor Project is part of 12 development projects designed to boost international tourism and expand the economy and end its longstanding reliance on gaming. The local government’s “development plan for the appropriate diversification of the economy (2024–2028)” spans about 13 square acres.
In a statement, lawmakers say they want to build “a leisure and diversified waterfront green corridor, and to construct cycling trails and waterfront walkways along the waterfront, linking up a number of different functional districts so as to provide a diversified leisure experience for the residents and tourists.”
It’s the first time the government has laid out a specific project for concessionaires to tackle. Over the next five-years, they must help to:
1. Develop international visitor source markets and promote diversification of tourist sources
2. Promote diversification of tourism products
3. Promote culinary tourism to make Macau a “City of Gastronomy”
4. Promote Macau’s cultural and creative brands
5. Promote the development of study tours
6. Promote training for the tourism industry
7. Promote a stronger integrated tourism and leisure industry
8. Deepen cooperation with the Greater Bay Area and Shenzhen-Hong Kong region
9. Promote the sustainable and healthy development of the gaming industry and meet the sustainable development needs of the SAR
10. Support quality higher education
11. Complete the South Coastal Green Corridor Project
12. Revitalize Historic Areas
The government wants to boost the total economic contribution of non-gaming industries to 60 percent of gross domestic product by 2028, with non-gaming employment at 80 percent. Gaming would be responsible for 40 percent of GDP.
In 2019, gaming was responsible for about 80 percent of government revenues and about half of GDP; the latter figure dropped to 25.8 percent in 2022, due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19. Macau did not reopen its borders until January. The government anticipates that international tourism and overnight visitation will return to pre-pandemic levels by 2028.
According to the Macau Daily Times, officials are also seeking the public’s input on the five-year plan, under the “1+4” strategy that seeks to boost traditional Chinese medicine and the “Big Health” industry, financial services, technology and “the convention and exhibition, sports, commercial and trade industries” as well as tourism and leisure.
Government authorities expect the number of meetings and conventions to grow from 2,000 to 2,500 over the next five years.
They stated that the plan “is less of a choice or a local government strategy and more of a need for the local executive to align with China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.
“Promoting appropriate economic diversification is the only path to solve the deep-rooted issues and problems in Macau’s economic and social development. It is an inevitable choice to ensure the long-term prosperity and stability of Macau and a must-do task both for the government and for Macau’s people from all walks of life.”
The government said the work will “speed up Macau’s appropriate economic diversification effort and support the city’s sustainable and high-quality development.”
In related news, as reported by GGRAsia, the deputy director of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) says visitation to the city in August could be “even better” than the average of 89,000 per day in July. Cheng Wai Tong said early tallies suggest visitor tallies could reach more than 93,000 per day.
In addition, S&P Global Ratings has projected that mass-market gross gaming revenues (GGR) will reach “85 percent to 90 percent” of 2019 levels, “outpacing our prior expectation. We expect it to fully recover in 2024.”
