Inside Asian Gaming

48 casino principality in the south of France,has priced out mass market visitors bymaking its hotels and restaurants so expensive that only the well-heeled can afford to visit. Of course, for political reasons this is unthinkable for the Macau government, because one of the key reasons casinos are tolerated by Beijing is so the territory can act as a playground- cum-safety valve for China’s passionate mass market gamblers. The point is, though, it’s not really up to the government. Price sensitive In the commercial world, creating con- sumer incentives and disincentives through pricing is a perfectly legitimate tactic. This is why many restaurants and cafes around the world have a policy that patrons must order food rather than just drinks during peak trading times. The person that hogs a table at lunchtime nursing only a cup of tea is causing the restaurant to under-utilise its valuable, cash-generating resources.The un- charitable might describe some of Macau’s current visitors as the equivalent of ‘table hoggers’, which may account for why stories are rife of tour guides trying to extort money from their clients by charging them for visit- ing free attractions or tricking them into vis- its to high pressure souvenir sellers instead of to famous sights. In a recent incident be- fore Christmas, police in riot gear were called to a stand off between tour guides and 100 enraged visitors from Hubei who claimed they had been kept virtual prisoners at Hac Sa beach on Coloane. The day is likely to come, and quite soon, when the commercial interests that run Macau’s tourism industry frankly no longer need ‘junk visitors’. If Las Vegas Sands Corp succeeds in driving up the demographic profile of Macau’s arrivals through its confer- ence and entertainment facilities and gets more people to stay overnight (a proven driver of visitor spending as Hong Kong has shown), then the incidence of coaches filled with shouting grannies from neighbouring provinces of China may fall dramatically. Nostalgia There are, though, well-documented social and economic risks with a headlong rush to modernity. In the long term, Macau residents and visitors of all income groups may rue the loss of the rather ramshackle old Macau, which despite its obvious fail- ings had a variety of services to suit every price point. Perhaps Macau should learn a lesson from Hong Kong, which manages thanks to the size and diversity of its economy not only to attract quality visitors but also to maintain a diverse service sector. Data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board indicates its visitors are on average richer and better educated than Macau visitors (and that includes Hong Kong’s arrivals from the Mainland). Of the 2.19 million visitor arrivals in Hong Kong in October last year,nearly half—1.08 million— were from China, and of those, more than three quarters—765,000—stayed at least one night. On average last year, overnight- ers in Hong Kong spent HK$5,100 (US$653) on goods and services (up 6/% on 2006), compared with the day trippers’ spend of HK$1,100 (US$140). Just because Hong Kong visitors may have more money, doesn’t mean they turn their nose up at a bargain. When tourists come to Hong Kong, even the well-off head to Kowloon to hunt for bargains at the night markets, or even to find brand name goods at discounts in small shops, rather than buy- ing them at the fixed prices of the flashy flag- ship stores in Central district. When the last of Macau’s pokey, hap- hazardly-stocked shops with their occa- sionally idiosyncratic trading hours finally close down—chased out by high rents, lack of staff or because the economic ac- tion has followed the casinos—then peo- ple may start with misty eyes to talk about the good old days. Visitor Stats