Your Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: IRs to adapt to China preference shift

Friday 22nd of July 2022

Good Morning. As international borders reopen and tourism begins to ramp up, China’s doors remain stubbornly closed as Beijing sticks with its zero Covid policies. In this week’s Face-to-Face interview, Dr. Wolfgang Arlt, founder of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, tells us that despite the lengthy absence from the world tourism scene that he’s confident the will to travel demand remains strong with the Chinese people. However, they will be looking for a different type of experience and Asia’s IRs need to adapt their offerings. Dr. Arlt will participate in a workshop on Asia travel reopening at the ASEAN Gaming Summit in Manila on Monday 25th, July.

What you need to know

Las Vegas Sands stock was up more than 4% on Thursday after the company’s Singapore property reported results that significantly exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Staff shortages at Singapore hotels, lack of air lift, holding back growth potential at Marina Bay Sands, LVS executives say.
Travel agency H.I.S is planning to sell the Huis Ten Bosch theme park, but the transfer should not affect plans to host an IR at the site: Nikkei.
Macau Government steps in with additional US$1.81 billion spend to cover gaming tax collection shortfall, Secretary for Economy and Finance disclosed.

On the radar

Meghalaya regulator appoints Jaydeep Chakravartty as expert member.
Evolution’s Asia revenue accounts for just under a third of total sales.

AGB Intelligence

FACE-TO-FACE

China reopening lags, but travel demand still seen intact

China’s reopening to the world is lagging all other countries as Beijing sticks with its zero-Covid policies, but sooner or later the government will have to allow the people to travel again, argues Dr. Wolfgang Arlt, founder of the Chinese Outbound Tourism Research Insitute (COTRI). In this week’s Face-to-Face, Dr. Arlt tells us that Chinese tastes have shifted since the beginning of the pandemic and Asia’s IRs will need to adapt their offerings accordingly. They also need to move away from targeting China as a single market and recognize that experiences between the older and younger generations are widely different.