CASINO TOURISM
Casino-induced tourism
It might not be a phrase you’re familiar with, but if the World Trade Organisation’s projections are correct, it soon will be. 100million Chinese tourists travelling overseas each year by 2020 – why not guide them toward your casino?
R
Chinese gamblers used to the opulence of Macau (below) might still find plenty of appeal in Europe’s casinos
iezouw Associates is looking toward that 2020 figure of 100million Chinese tourists and thinking, “What if…” The company, based in Austria, is looking for casino and tourism partners to initiate a
new concept for European tourism. Robert Riezouw, Managing Director of Riezouw Associates, spoke to Casino International about the plan…
Casino International: Riezouw Associates is focussing on promoting casinos outside of China to Chinese tourists, is that right?
Robert Riezouw: That’s correct. We’re calling it
casino induced tourism marketing. Effectively we are promoting European casino destinations to Chinese travellers who will be visiting Europe and other countries in their schedule.
CI: The visa situation for Chinese nationals –
certainly with Macau in mind – seems to change reasonably frequently. Is that partly why you’re doing this? It’s a growing tourist economy.
RR: I don’t think we would ever think of competing
with Macau as a gambling destination for the Chinese, but the reality is that the Chinese are becoming more and more affluent, and their interest in travelling abroad is growing rapidly. The World Trade Organisation has predicted that by 2020, some 100million Chinese will be travelling overseas. Our motivation therefore was not so much that travelling to Macau might be becoming more difficult for them, but rather that when travelling overseas, their love for gambling will certainly play a big role in their choice of destinations in the future.
CI: So what are you doing, and how are you doing it?
RR: First of all we are now the exclusive
programming, advertising and sponsoring partners of Lotus TV, a privately-owned, Macau-based television network. Lotus TV services all of the hotels, casinos and households in Macau. The basis we are working on is that through Lotus TV we are reaching a very specific target group, namely: affluent Chinese with a passion for gambling, for travel and for luxury – the three main reasons they are in Macau in the first place. Our aim is to develop a strategy of creative co-
operation between the European tourism industry and the gaming industry, which traditionally have never really worked together because of the perceived stigma on gambling in Europe. In the past, casinos have not played a large role in the marketing mix of the tourism industry. With a primary focus on the growing Chinese tourism market, we are essentially trying to spotlight the casino as a key attraction of the tourism marketing agenda. We are looking at different ways of doing this. We
are currently developing a 20-minute travel & lifestyle program for Lotus TV that will specifically highlight international casino destinations and will run daily on the network. The show will typically profile different tourism destinations, each time showing the various attractions that will appeal to Chinese visitors, but in each case the casino will play a central role. Basically, we are developing branded content or a branded format for Macau television, focussing on a
28 DECEMBER 2010
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