Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, has told GGRAsia he is “pleased with the speed of the recovery” in the Macau tourism market. Most travel restrictions covering movement between mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong were eased in early January, and for overseas arrivals after that.
Mr Ho stated, referring to inbound travel permissions from the Chinese mainland and elsewhere: “We’ve been saying it for a long time: Macau is a tourism centre and you need visitors for traffic, so now we’re seeing uninterrupted visas and stuff like that. So we’re pleased.”
The entrepreneur was speaking on Thursday on the sidelines of a launch ceremony (pictured) for the indoor water park at Melco Resorts’ majority-owned Studio City property, and for new hotel accommodation there, called the Epic Tower, to add to the existing two towers. The new one features 338 suites, according to previous statements by the group.
Asked whether the Epic Tower would be available from Thursday for booking by the general public, Mr Ho told GGRAsia: “The Epic Tower is… a super high-end building, so I think right now, initially we’re soft-opening it with a view of full opening by May 1. So… right now it’s just [for] our known customers first.”
GGRAsia has been told by a person with knowledge of the matter that the Epic Tower is likely to be for gaming clients initially. As of Thursday afternoon, the Epic Tower was not showing in the drop-down booking menu on Studio City’s consumer-facing website.
Mr Ho was asked by GGRAsia if Melco Resorts was currently capturing its fair share of the business returning to the Macau casino market. Besides Studio City, the group runs the City of Dreams gaming complex also on Cotai, as well as Altira Macau in Taipa, and a chain of Macau slot-machine halls called Mocha Clubs.
He stated, referring to the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic: “We’re conservative in terms of the three years that we went through, but I think overall with this new building, we’ll capture more than our fair share.”
Melco Resorts is spending circa US$1.2 billion on the entire Phase 2 of Studio City, including the indoor water park – which complements an existing outdoor one and will in aggregate offer a facility covering approximately 26,000 square metres (279,863 sq. feet) – and two new hotel towers, one of them the Epic Tower.
Melco Resorts was this year yet to invest between US$75 million and US$80 million on completion of Studio City Phase 2, the firm’s management said last month.
Indoor water park not part of concession pledge
Mr Ho clarified in his Thursday comments that the investment in the indoor water park was not part of the company’s MOP11.8-billion (US$1.5-billion) spending commitment to the Macau government in return for its new 10-year casino concession, which commenced on January 1. Of the total pledged by the firm, MOP10.0 billion is for non-gaming activities. He did not cite a specific spending figure for the indoor water park.
In comments to local media, Mr Ho referred to the Macau government’s aspiration to bring in more visitors from overseas markets, making use of gaming and non-gaming tourism facilities.
He stated in relation to the water park complex at Studio City: “The goal is to attract international traffic in addition to having a additional amenity for the locals, the local Macau people, and of course the mainland Chinese visitors.”
Mr Ho added: “This is probably the biggest indoor-outdoor water park in all of Asia. So I think it will appeal to at least people regionally in Asia, and potentially international visitors as well.”
The Melco Resorts CEO further stated, referring to the firm’s five market rivals in Macau: “Different companies have different focuses and ours clearly is entertainment… I think going forward over the next 10 years, we’re going to introduce more and more new entertainment attractions.”
He noted: “Next year we hope to reopen the House of Dancing Water.” That was a reference to the group’s popular show that had a long-standing residency at City of Dreams, but was suspended ultimately in June 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company had mentioned in December last year – when it outlined its non-gaming effort planned for its new concession – that it intended to revive the spectacle in 2024.
