Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAR 2020年3月 亞博匯 24 COVER STORY of years there has been growth, but it’s in the single digits here. But again, like I said, our priority is not in that space. It’s mass and premium mass. AWS: What do you think Manila particularly needs to do to explode more as a tourism destination? EKR: Two things: the airport and the subway. The government is focused on building the Clark Airport, they’ve approved the airport in Bulacan and one here, in Cavite, so we may end up like London, with three or four. The problem here in Manila is runway capacity – the airport only has a single runway. It’s similar to Kai Tak in Hong Kong before. They built the new airport and now it all works. That’s what we need to do. AWS: So you would prefer to see new airports built rather than fixing Ninoy Aquino International Airport? EKR: They are fixing the airports and terminals, but NAIA will end up being like Haneda maybe. The new airports have to be done. And then you have that kind of situation like London or Tokyo. I mean, nobody wants to go to Narita, it’s just too far. But Bulacan or Cavite are probably closer than Hong Kong airport to downtown. AWS: Do you think it’s practical for international flights to fly into Clark when the destination is Manila? EKR: It will get closer. Once the infrastructure is improved it will get closer and give people more options. Now, if you’re in Clark you are just in Clark and if you’re here you are here. But if you get people to circulate more with better infrastructure, I think everybody wins. If you have the proper roads and railways Clark isn’t that far away at all. I mean, just look at all the other cities. Look at Heathrow with a proper highway. I mean, you can’t land in downtown Knightsbridge or something like you can in Manila. It’s inside the city. It’s not close to the city but actually on the inside.