Casino developer Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd says it is “currently in the process of setting up a sales office” in the Republic of Cyprus to promote Macau as a tourism destination.
The company has already established similar sales offices “in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines,” it said in a Wednesday press release.
Melco Resorts runs casinos in Macau and a property in the Philippine capital Manila. The firm also operates three satellite casinos in Cyprus in conjunction with the City of Dreams Mediterranean resort in Limassol.
The company announced in April a partnership with John Keells Holdings Plc to develop a US$1-billion casino complex in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. The gaming venue is scheduled to launch in mid-2025.
Wednesday’s release was in connection with a travel promotion event in Cyprus, to help the firm promote Macau – where it has most of its business – as an international travel and leisure hub.
Tourism and other government officials from Macau and Cyprus, along with executives from Melco Resorts, were in attendance.
The company said it invited about 150 guests from the government of Cyprus and Macau, as well as from travel agencies, business associations and media representatives from across Europe, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and Macau.
The announcement quoted Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts, as saying that the event served “as a testament” to the company’s support for the Macau government’s “drive to attract further international travellers to the city, and to expand Macau’s visitor sources”.
He added: “We are confident that Macau will grow to become an even more cherished and popular destination for travellers from Cyprus, the broader European and GCC market, as an exciting and remarkable city for visitors to immerse themselves in electrifying excitement.”
Also in attendance was Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), who said that “Macau and Cyprus have much in common and great room for cooperation in tourism and beyond”.
“Helped by Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s City of Dreams Mediterranean and its Macau sales office in Cyprus, I believe that we can spark a long-lasting friendship and cooperation between our two destinations,” stated Ms Senna Fernandes, as cited in the release.
The MGTO director added: “We look forward to joining hands with Macau’s integrated resort enterprises to create more cooperation and jointly expand the international visitor source markets.”
Melco Resorts, and the other five gaming concessionaires in the Macau market, have pledged to develop non-gaming projects and explore overseas customer markets over the course of their new 10-year gaming rights that came into effect at the start of 2023.
