DRMumbai: Improved air access by Indian guests from cities like Jaipur, Varanasi and Lucknow through low-cost carriers via Singapore and Thailand hubs into Macau International Airport has rung in good news for Sands Resorts Macao.
Stephanie Tanpure, Vice-President of Sales, Sands Resorts Macao, said, “We have started seeing a trend of guests coming from Jaipur, Varanasi and Lucknow by opting for low-cost connections by Scoot and ThaiSmile, with convenient onward connections to Macau International Airport. The emergence of LCCs in Tier-II cities have opened up new opportunities for us besides the traffic that we receive from the main metro cities. However, Hong Kong still continues to remain the premier gateway. We are excited about the opening of Hong Kong Macau China Bridge, which will connect Hong Kong airport directly to Macau, in a driving time of 30 minutes. This will open up new opportunities in terms of access.”
“We see a lot of interest from families for our properties and attractions. The average length of stay of Indian guests is 2.3 to 2.5 nights, while we recommend 4 nights since Macau has evolved as a destination in the past 4 years,” she said. India is the fifth largest visitor source market for Sands Macao.
The Venetian Macao remains hugely popular among Indian guests. The Parisian Macao has a French theme, and the focus now is to divert guests of Venetian Macao to this offering, as well as generate new traffic by building awareness. She believes that the property is apt for honeymooners with attractions and offerings to create a lifetime of experiences. “It has an Eiffel Tower, an observation deck with fabulous views, impressive cabaret shows in the Parisian theatre as well as daily parades.”
According to Tanpure, in the first quarter of 2018, Macau Tourism Office recorded a 7.9 per cent year-on-year growth in visitor arrivals from India, which translates into 25,000 visitors. “We receive around 100,000 visitors from India annually, and are seeing meetings and events growing in numbers, and the size of groups is also getting bigger. There has been a trend of incremental spend as well.”
