Visitation to Malaysia’s Resorts World Genting (RWG) has quickly recovered to more than 50% of pre-COVID levels, and casino operations by a similar amount, within the first few weeks since reopening.
According to a research note from financial services firm CGS-CIMB, RWG, which was granted permission to reopen gradually from 19 June, has seen considerable uptick during the first two weeks of July, allowing the IR to increase its available hotel room capacity from 2,000 to 4,000 “to cater to the higher demand.”
Similarly, operator Genting Malaysia has reported that its SkyCasino and Genting Grand casinos are also back to 50% of normal capacity. While the casinos are currently open only to members, and with social distancing measures in place, CGS-CIMB noted that members traditionally comprise the majority of RWG’s casino revenue.
“Typically, some 70% to 80% of Resorts World’s visitor arrivals are locals, and there has been pent up demand for domestic tourism and gaming post-MCO (Movement Control Order),” it said.
“Hence, we believe RWG’s business will perform better than other casinos in the region that are more dependent on international visitors.”
Both the mass and VIP gaming segments have shown strength, CGS-CIMB said, with the inability to travel allowing RWG to capture demand from local VIP players.