Inside Asian Gaming

IAG OCT 2020年10月 亞博匯 16 亞博匯早報 BREAKFAST BRIEFS YOKOHAMA TO HOLD DISCUSSIONS WITH IR OPERATORS TO UNDERSTAND IMPACT OF COVID-19 橫濱因應新冠疫情衝擊與綜合度假村營運商進行商討 YOKOHAMA CITY MAYOR FUMIKO HAYASHI has proposed initiating further dialogue with operators who took part in the city’s Request for Concept (RFC) process late last year in order to better understand how they have been impacted by COVID-19. The dialogue is seen as an important new step in the city’s bid to find an operator partner and win approval from the central government to develop one of Japan’s first integrated resorts. At the city council’s plenary session, Mayor Hayashi emphasized the need to pursue the IR project, stating, “Revival of tourism and MICE are essential for a long-term boost to the Yokohama economy.” Additional dialogue would be considered for those operators who took part in the RFC, which include Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Genting Singapore and Sega Sammy Group. It is unclear whether Las Vegas Sands, who pulled out of the race in May, or Wynn Resorts, who recently shut down their Yokohama office, would be invited to take part. Hayashi said Yokohama would “keep pace with the rest of the country” while proceeding with its IR plans. InAugust,YokohamacitydelayedpublicationofitsIRimplementation policy, which outlines requirements of the IR project, due to COVID-19 and anticipated delays to the national application timeline. 橫濱市長林文子 主動提出要與去年底參加該 市概念徵集(Request for Concept, RFC)的營 運商進行更多對話，以了解他們受新冠肺炎疫 情衝擊的情況。 這對話被視作橫濱嘗試尋找一個營運商 夥伴，並從日本中央政府取得許可發展該國其 中一間綜合度假村(IR)的重要一步。 在市議會全體會議中，林文子強調IR計劃 需要繼續進行，並且指出：「重振旅遊及會展業 對於長遠促進橫濱經濟至關重要。」 該市亦正考慮與其他參與RFC的營運商 展開更多對話，包括銀河娛樂集團、新濠博亞 娛樂、雲頂新加坡及世嘉颯美集團。但於五月 宣佈退出競逐的維加斯金沙和最近關閉其橫 濱辦事處的永利渡假村會否受邀參與，則是未 知之數。 林文子表示，橫濱將會「與國內其他地方 保持一致步伐」，同時會繼續進行其IR計劃。 橫濱市在八月時曾由於新冠疫情和預計 全國的申請許可時間表將出現延誤，決定推遲 公佈勾勒出IR企劃要求的IR落實政策。