Several Macau casino operators have been getting “foreign visitors” arriving via private jets as the companies have been “more keen” on expanding visitor sources beyond the Chinese mainland, post the Covid-19 pandemic, said a boss of TAG Aviation Asia (Macau) Ltd in an interview with local Chinese-language newspaper Macao Daily News.
Rita Tam, general manager of TAG Aviation Asia in Macau, said that in February, each of such jet services had been carrying circa “a dozen” passengers inbound.
TAG Aviation launched its first Asia-Pacific fixed-based operator (FBO) service in Macau in January 2019, according to corporate information. It offers VIP and business amenities, on-site customs and immigration clearance, flight planning, and chartering, as well as aircraft maintenance and servicing.
She said the market for its services had picked up this year, starting with flights inbound from Southeast Asia countries, coinciding with the lifting in Macau of Covid-19 associated travel controls from early January.
Most of those visitors were coming for entertainment, travel and leisure, stated the aviation executive, though she did not specifically mention casino gambling. Some of those inbound by private jet represented global retail brands wishing to check on their businesses within the city, she added.
The Macao Tourism Industry Development Master Plan, issued in November 2021 by the city’s tourism authority, had mentioned a number of steps to boost Macau’s profile with the high-end tourism segment. They included moves to “market promotion activities towards the high-value target segments in mainland China and overseas to attract more high-value visitors to Macau and increase the proportion of high-value visitors”.
As part of the tender process for the new 10-year gaming concessions that started on January 1, the Macau government asked applicants to work to increase the number of overseas gamblers served by the city’s casino resorts. The updated regulatory framework has made possible distinct gambling zones for foreigners within Macau casinos, with the potential that such play could be eligible for a lower tax rate on gross gaming revenue.
Some zones are already available to such customers, according to sources spoken to by GGRAsia.
