Learning from Macau
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Since the termination of the local gambling monopoly in 2002, Macau, once known as the tranquil neighbor of Hong Kong, has become the gambling city in the world, with revenue reaching seven times that of Las Vegas, and a GDP per capita 3 times of Hong Kong. However, despite the lucrative figures, Macau as a city suffered greatly in its spatial and cultural identity due to the government’s inability to diversify Macau’s economy. While the government made attempts to promote the city’s Sino-Portugal heritage to attract tourism, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage city in 2005. Macau’s dependency on the gambling industry caused the city to sacrifice its original master plans in favours of casino constructions. Plans byAlvaro Siza in the 90’s, which focused on cultural and residential developments, were quickly scraped to make ways for the space consuming casino developments. This exacerbated the housing problems and created a high property value much similar to Hong Kong. The attractive nature of the gambling business also generated a generation of uneducated; teens graduated from secondary school would rather work in casinos than pursuit a higher degree of education. Aside from the negative aspect, the American’s casino and their business model, MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) have without a doubt improved the standard of living in Macau, and became an integral part of Macau citizens’ daily life. Casinos is not just a place for gambling, but a family friendly attraction, providing fine dining, luxury brands, and state of the art entertainment facilities. Methodology |
