Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming March 2015 12 Cover Story CLSA predicts in a report published in January titled “Social Pressures—Chinese Tourists Keep Exploring” that outbound departures will double to 200 million by 2020. “Explosive projected growth in outbound Greater China travel numbers offers immense opportunity for countries to benefit from Chinese tourists’ desire for new experiences—from sightseeing to food, to hotels, to gaming and shopping. Tourists will become increasingly savvy, independent and demand high quality experiences and service,” says Mr Fischer. While Mr Fischer believes Hong Kong and Macau will continue ranking as the top international travel destinations for Chinese tourists, he also expects outbound travel to other destinations to see faster percentage growth as holidaymakers seek more exotic locales. In absolute terms, however, Mr Fischer forecasts Macau will see the largest growth in the number of Chinese tourists, reaching 33 million in 2020. “Macau will be a relative outperformer with the various new integrated resorts (to open from 2015 onwards) set to improve the city’s tourism infrastructure,” writes Mr Fischer. “We still expect Macau’s Chinese visitation growth of 9% to trail behind other further afield locations though due to its current high base.” The CLSA report assesses the attractiveness of 26 major travel destinations using a model incorporating five criteria: hotel offerings, dining venues, tourist attractions, accessibility and shopping options. The destinations are awarded a weighted score on each criteria to arrive at a total score out of 100. Topping the list is Japan, with a score of 77. Hong Kong places fifth with 67, while Macau gets a fairly low score of 45 to come in at 15th The Macau offering that worked in the past simply might not cut it for the growing legions of sophisticated middle-class Chinese, for whom Japan, France and Korea rank as the top three aspirational places to visit. Source: Euromonitor, CLSA Country 2013 20CL Chg 14-20CL Total% (m) (m) (m) Cagr(%) change Hong Kong 40.3 52.3 12.0 4 30 Macau 18.6 33.0 14.4 9 77 Korea 4.2 13.0 8.8 18 210 Thailand 4.0 11.0 7.0 15 175 Taiwan 2.9 9.4 6.5 18 224 Singapore 2.0 2.9 0.9 5 45 USA 2.0 6.5 4.5 18 224 Japan 1.3 8.9 7.6 31 585 Australia 0.7 2.3 1.6 19 229 Switzerland 0.6 2.3 1.6 20 283 Italy 0.5 1.3 0.8 15 160 France 0.4 1.9 1.5 24 375 Philippines 0.4 1.6 1.2 21 300 Germany 0.4 1.3 0.9 18 225 A tour guide leads a group of Chinese tourists wearing rental kimonos at the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto. Macau Will See the Biggest Absolute Gain in Chinese Tourists... Mainland Chinese outbound tourists by destination