Inside Asian Gaming

August 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 7 Cover Story and none of them could play at its casinos. Macau’s proximity and affinity withmainland China has made it Asia’s gaming giant, with 2007 casino revenues exceeding US$10 billion—accounting for over half the region’s total. Jeju lags far behind. Kid-friendly Jeju has other advantages over Macau, though, giving it clear potential to carve out a niche as a gaming and tourism centre. First, there is the issue of size and diversity of attractions. Tiny Macau has a land area of a mere 29 sq. km and boasts few natural attractions. Jeju covers an expansive 1,846 sq. km, with scenery ranging from tropical beaches to snow-capped mountains. Macau boasts the world’s largest casino at Venetian Macao (which is incidentally also reportedly Asia’s largest building). Jeju features Asia’s largest Buddhist Temple. Although Macau is set to open a string of expansive shopping malls at various mega resorts, Jeju has a high-end duty free boutique which provides luxury goods such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and Chanel for “10-15% cheaper than in Macau,” claims Mr McDowell. Mr Park points out that “when a person from China comes to Macau, they think of two things: gaming and sex. When they come to Jeju, it’s more tourism”—from the island’s ubiquitous golf courses (there were 38 at last count) and water sports, to lava caves and the world’s largest Teddy Bear museum.“It’s a wonderful place to visit with your family,” remarks Mr Park, adding “you can’t bring your kids to Macau.” Location is another consideration. The bulk of Chinese players coming to Jeju hail from the wealthy northern cities, including Shanghai and Beijing. From Shanghai, Jeju is a mere 55 minutes by plane, whereas Macau is two and a half hours away. Over 80% of mainland Chinese visitors to Macau hail from the affluent southern province of Guangdong—the centre of the country’s export industry. From Guangdong, Macau is a short trip by land or sea. The bulk of Macau’s visitors are from Greater China—mainland China accounts for 60% of visitors and Hong Kong and Taiwan another 30%. Jeju’s customer base boasts a major Japanese contingent. Last year, Japanese accounted for about 37% of the estimated 600,000 non-Korean visitors to Jeju, while mainland Chinese made up about half. Jeju’s 10% tax on gross gaming revenue gives its casinos a key competitive edge over their Macau counterparts, who face a steep “For Japanese to come to Jeju island and spend two days of golfing, with airplane tickets, hotel and all the food, is cheaper than one round of golf in Japan.”