Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac (pictured), said on Friday that the local government believes a further increase in the amount of non-gaming attractions offered by the local casino sector can help diversify the source markets for the city’s tourism industry.
It could also make the casino industry more sustainable by helping to nurture mass-market gambling, rather than the high-grossing but volatile VIP sort.
the mass gaming segment had also played an increasingly important role in the overall structure of the city’s gross gaming venue. The mass sort accounted for approximately half the city’s overall gaming revenue for the first two months of this year, as compared to only “20 – 30 percent in the past”. Such change had brought on a “better” gaming revenue structure, and helps the city to be more “resilient” against economic fluctuations, argued Mr Leong
Finally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Macau’s economy to expand by 5.3 percent this year. In its latest report on the city, the institution said: “The main driver of medium-term growth is tourism, with mass gaming and non-gaming tourism further expanding, but more subdued VIP gaming growth, in line with authorities’ diversification efforts towards more stable sources of growth.”


