Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming December 2016 12 Cover Story “If you look at Singapore as an example and how successful Marina Bay Sands has been for the operator, there was very clear intent by the government in regards to tourism for the country. There was a clear goal from the Minister for Tourism about what they wanted, including being close to a transport location. “They’ve achieved that and I think if you’ve got that platform, that agreement and support it becomes a lot easier to put the ideas together and to focus on the financial forecasting.” In Cambodia, NagaWorld has also benefited from the country’s growing tourism profile. From just 450,000 visitors to Cambodia in 2000, more than five million will arrive this year while the number of international flights arriving each week has grown from 143 in 2010 to 450 this year and more than 500 in 2017. Yet even if the conditions are right, warns Clayton, the rapidly increasing competition for players all across Asia means the key driver for success is standing out from the crowd. “The most successful IRs in Macau have a core idea, whether that’s Parisian’s Eiffel Tower or the palatial qualities and architecture of Galaxy,” he says. “You need headline attractions. If you’ve got the headline it’s far easier to market – and when we’re talking about the Asian market, you need to look regionally not just locally. “If you look at Singapore and Marina Bay Sands, you could argue that much of its success comes down to the iconic nature of the building and everything that stands for in the context of Singapore and tourism. In fact, if you look at Singapore tourism ads now, it is the most iconic feature in their advertising. “Likewise when it comes to Macau, there are some very iconic features here that naturally get coverage in the media but more importantly get a huge amount of coverage on social media. “Lessons can always be learnt fromMacau, even if the investment total in other markets is much lower. You do need a product that resonates with your audience and is very effective with that audience irrespective of whether it is VIP, Direct, Premium Mass or Mass. You have to look at yourself and ask, ‘What is going to be distinctive about us?’ “You have to be able to differentiate yourself.” “I think it is a killer in many jurisdictions where new laws are passed and the government tries to implement a minimum investment – US$1 billion or whatever it might be. Quite honestly, that may take a significant amount of time to recover if you can recover it at all.” – Tim McNally Marina Bay Sands has been an enormous success