Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUL 2023年7月 亞博匯 36 COVER STORY Kong. But we are now doing a lot of promotions overseas. We are expanding our overseas representative network, we are bringing in wholesalers, tour operators to come and experience Macau, hoping they will help introduce Macau to the world. Now, this is a long-term goal – 10% is not today and it’s not tomorrow. It is the long- term. And I believe that with all six [concessionaires] pooling our resources together – you saw that all six of us turned up in Lisbon recently trying to promote Macau overseas – I think all this counts, and hopefully over time with all the effort that we put in, we will gradually increase the number of foreign visitors to Macau. Whether we achieve 9% or 10% or 11%, we just try and do our best. AWS: On the theme of overseas, we recently saw the MGM-ORIX consortium finally get approved in Osaka, Japan, and there may be a second IR in Nagasaki. There’s talk of IRs in Thailand, while Singapore is continuing to grow with a fourth tower at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa doing a big expansion too. Then there’s the Philippines which is on track to double its GGR to become a US$10 billion market by 2027. Do you see that as a threat to Macau, particularly if Macau becomes more reliant on overseas visitation? Dr Wong: Competition is the norm and whether that competition comes today or in 10 years or 20 years’ time, you have got to be ready. As an operator you have to try and lead the pack. That is why it’s so important for us to consistently upgrade our facilities, renovate our hotel rooms. You know, we haven’t finished with The Londoner program. We’re going to renovate the Sheraton Towers. That’s 4,000 rooms. We’re going to spend a lot of capex on those buildings, all in the hope that we will bring the latest trend, the latest experience that peoplewill really uphold as the standard. If you compare us now with the Venetian days, we have brought the whole thing to another level, and I’m sure our next edition will try to surpass our current edition. So, it’s not competing with others, it’s competing with yourself as well. Only if you can give the best product and the best service standard can you withstand strong competition.