Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Chairman Francis Lui says that Macau needs to address its growing pains as it doubles down on a mass market model, in order to not lose its competitive edge.
During his keynote address at the opening of G2E Asia in Macau, the executive noted that the company’s focus on the mass market was dialed in “in the early 2000s […] driven by the emergent middle class of Asia”.
Macau’s overall shift to the mass market model “influenced” the company to invest more in non-gaming elements, “achieving remarkable results”.
But this shift has also exposed some of Macau’s major weaknesses.
“If we fail to properly address the question of accommodation supply, Macau’s competitiveness as a non-gaming destination, not only regionally but globally, could diminish,” stated Lui.
“Given demand for accommodation will continue to outstrip supply in the years ahead, we must also come together as an industry to protect Macau’s premium positioning,” he warned.
Overall, Lui does not opine that Macau has reached a saturation point, even indicating that more could be done to facilitate international travel via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge (HKZM), and with immigration improvements to allow travel to multiple cities within the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
But he did caution that “our society faces several challenges, such as labor shortages, a lack of skilled professionals, and an ageing population, limited land resources, rising costs and regional competition.”
If Macau hopes to make good on its non-gaming push, all of the above (and more) will need to be addressed.
