Wednesday morning saw the latest instalment in the France Macau Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Meeting series with Inside Asian Gaming’s own CEO Andrew W Scott as the keynote speaker. The meeting saw Mr Scott present the methodology, data collection process and findings of his research thesis into factors affecting the profitability of Asian Integrated Resorts.
The 124-page thesis, part of the University of Macau’s Master of Science in International Integrated Resort Management, represents the first research of its kind studying holistically what makes one IR more profitable than another.
The research indicated the factors affecting Asian Integrated Resort profitability were split into five dimensions, each with two broad groups of factors. They were:
- The Feeder Market (Socio-demographics and Access Dynamics)
- Political Factors (Government Factors and Regulatory Factors)
- The Intensity of Competition (Number of Competitors and Property Scale)
- Host Factors (Host Destination factors and Host Community Factors)
- Enterprise Factors (Enterprise Management and Enterprise Offerings)
The research showed the most influential of the five dimensions was the Feeder Market, with the Socio-demographics of the Feeder Market being the most influential factor group.
The FMCC Breakfast Meeting was well-attended by business and industry leaders in Macau.
Discussing the significance of his Masters degree, Mr Scott said, “It has taken me almost five years to complete this Masters at the University of Macau but I’m very happy to have been able to complete such a unique degree in the very city I live in.
“It is basically a degree for people who want to be senior executives in the IR industry. It’s been a great experience that I have learnt deeply from.”
Scott explained that as part of the research he had conducted lengthy one on one interviews with 13 very senior industry executives with an average of 29 years experience each. They represented a variety of industry sectors – operators, regulators, VIP promoters, analysts, consultants and academics.
“I was delighted to have the cooperation of such senior people,” he said, “They were extremely candid and that helped in a very meaningful way.”
Scott said the thesis may eventually be published in an academic journal and even be expanded to be published as a book on the Asian Integrated Resort industry.