Macau could find itself enjoying opportunities arising from Thailand’s inclination towards a gambling industry, with a US$15.1 billion (MOP121.55 billion) casino market on the horizon.
According to brokerage CLSA, the Southeast Asian country could launch its first entertainment complex as early as 2029 – alongside a possible 17 per cent gaming tax on gross gaming revenue.
“Even though Chinese tourists are likely to be a major source of Thailand’s post-Covid tourism rebound, we see sharp differences between Macau and Thailand tourism that would ensure Macanese gaming resilience,” analysts Jeffrey Kiang, Naphat Chantaraserekul, and Leo Pan wrote.
Four out of Macau’s six casino concessionaires have expressed interest in investing in Thailand.
Visitor profiles, length of stay and origin were cited as key differentiators.
The analysts emphasised the special administrative region’s “diverse mix of visitors”, with 90 per cent of travellers from Hong Kong and mainland China. As for Thailand, mainland China and India will be viewed as “untapped markets given their low travel penetration” at 0.1 to 0.2 per cent of the total population.
Non-gaming Potential in Macau: government is actively trying to resolve this situation.
If the travel penetration rate was to increase to 1.4 per cent in both countries, mirroring the rate from China to Macau, it would imply a potential 77 per cent and 9.9 times increase in annual visits to Thailand from China (comprising 28 per cent of total visits in 2019) and India (constituting 5 per cent of total visits in 2019).
