Introduction


 


            From being a Portuguese colony from 1554 to 1974, Macau has emerged to be one of the famous destinations in Far East Asia. It was once called the “Venice of the Far East” and “Monte Carlo of the Far East” today. Located 60km west of Hong Kong and to north of South China Sea, with a total area of 25.8 square kilometers (, 2002), it became Macau Special Administrative Region, SAR, of China in 1999. Like Hong Kong, aside from having its own flag system, China’s socialist economic system is not practice in Macau despite being under China’s sovereignty.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


The territory of Macau includes the Peninsula of Macau and the islands of Taipa and Coloane which are connected by bridges and causeway. Densely urban, it has no arable land for farming and depends on the production of fish and shellfish.


The city has population of about 465, 300, mostly living in the peninsula, about 95.7% are Chinese and 1.8% are Portuguese descent (). The culture of Macau is a combination of European and the rich Chinese culture from religion, cuisine, attractions and language as well as on its architecture, lifestyle and traditions which are evident on various museums and monuments across the city. Rooting on its history, Portuguese colonizers were attracted to Macau and made it as a staging port for transporting goods from Lisbon to Japan and as a trading post for China-Japan trade. From that time up to the early 1950s, the city relied heavily on trade but after the World War II, organized gambling, tourism, light manufacturing industry and the availability of cheap labor emerged followed by the construction of office buildings, hotels and casinos (, 1993).


            The Portuguese would not be interested in the place if it has not been a significant source of wealth, may it be because of its strategic geographical location, the people or the opportunities in the country. The focus of this paper is basically what makes Macau a competitive destination. The paper also discusses the importance of socio-cultural sustainability in the competitiveness of Macau and determines how the city attracts tourism which is Macau’s primary source of wealth.


Findings


 


Gambling: The Beginning of Tourism


Macau is considered to be one of the hottest tourist destinations in Asia and tourism has been Macau’s leading economic sector. Tourism employs 30 percent of Macau’s total working population (, 2002). As noted above, Macau lacks of natural resources but has rich cultural and historical heritage and architectures aside from the unplanned tourism rooted from legalized gambling which became one of the tourism activities in Macau.


            Gambling was the one which started tourism in Macau. Macau, as early as the 17th century, according to a Franciscan friar, (1991), was dominated by robbery, gambling, drunkenness, cheating and other vices. In 1934, the Portuguese government granted monopoly rights to all casino-style gambling and assigned a franchise contract to Tai Xing Co., the biggest gambling house in Macau that time (2003). In 1949, all forms of gambling were banned in China by the Chinese government, leaving Macau to be the only place in the Chinese region where gambling was permitted (, 2003).


            The taking over of the franchise contract from Tai Xing Co.to a privately owned company named the Sociedad de Turismo de Diversoes de Macau, STDM, in 1962 (2003) started the contribution of the gambling industry to the economy of Macau. STDM introduced Western games to the Chinese-style casino and developed a modern and well-organized gaming industry (2003). STDM, invested in infrastructure development such as hotels and ferries to provide transportation and accommodation services to tourists from Hong Kong (, 2003).


            Gambling, from then on, became the key industry in Macau. With the development of infrastructures in Macau, gambling and casinos in Macau attract many tourists and foreigners from different parts of the world, generating revenue for Macau with about 60% of Macau’s GDP in 2002 (2003).        Currently, the gaming industry in Macau can be compared to the industry in Las Vegas, coining Macau as the “Monte Carlo of the Far East”.


Destination Competitiveness


            Destination competitiveness can be defined as having a competitive advantage over alternative destinations open to potential visitors. It can also be the total attractiveness of a destination and the integrity of the experiences it delivers to visitors (, 2006). Competitiveness is associated with three major groups of thoughts: comparative advantage and price competitiveness perspective (1990); a strategy and management perspective; and a historical and cultural perspective (1989).


            The bases for destination competitiveness are the core resources and attractors which include physiography and climate, culture and history, market ties, mix of activities, special events, entertainment and superstructures (1999). Supporting factors are also bases of sustainability which include infrastructure, accessibility of destination, hospitality and facilitating resources and enterprise (, 1999).


            The core resources and the supporting factors can be enhanced and capitalized through destination management. This includes activities of destination management organizations, destination marketing management, destination policy, planning and development, human resource development and environmental management.  


            Moreover, according to (1993), to be competitive, a destination’s development of tourism must be sustainable, not just economically and ecologically but socially, culturally and politically as well.


Destination Competitiveness of Macau


            Tourist arrivals to Macau in 2002 topped over 11.5 million ( 2002) and continue to increase every year especially with the development in casinos and promotion of tourism through its culture.  Having tourism as the primary source of wealth, Macau should be able to maintain the high value of tourism in the city through destination competitiveness.


Analyzing competitiveness of Macau as a destination, its main edge over other destination is its “East meets West” culture, making it a unique destination. Its attractors from the temples, cultural heritages, and buildings are combinations are combinations of Portuguese and Chinese cultures. Looking at historical and cultural perspective, Macau has really an edge over other destination especially in Asia.


Attractions in Macau, Its Core Resources


Macau Has been the Mecca of the casino industry in Asia Pacific Rim, with 10 casinos as well as horse and greyhound racing (1999; 1997). The casino business contributed more than one half of the Macau’s GDP in 1997 (1998). The percentage declined to approximately 40% in 1999; however, gambling and tourism still provided about 60% of the government revenue in 1999 (Bowman, 1999).


Majority of tourists visit Macau with a single purpose of gambling, mostly from Hong Kong (2000). Most visitors to Macau were Hong Kong day-trippers who partake in casino gambling activities (1997). Visitors from East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, including Hong Kong, have accounted for 95% – 96% of the total inbound travelers between 1995 and 1999. Arrivals from China have continued to increase, especially with a significant growth rate of 83% from 1998 to 1999 (, 2000). Taiwanese and Japanese accounted for between 10% and 15% of the total traveler composition during the past five-year period (2000).


Macau is located near South China Sea and in the monsoon region, having a climate of mild and rainy in summer. The most comfortable period is from October to December. The winter season in the city covers the month of January and February while summer is from May to September. One of the latest attractions in Macau is the Fisherman’s Wharf, the first themed attraction in the city located at Macau’s outer harbor which can be compared and compete with the Disneyland in Hong Kong and Tokyo.


            As Portuguese also brought Catholicism in Macau, a number of temples and churches serve as tourist spots in the city. The most famous of them is the Ruins of St. Paul which was built in 1602 and was burned in 1835 has remained its architecturally designed façade. Aside from Catholic churches, Buddhists temples can also be seen across Macau. The A-ma Temple is the most famous of them. Other attractions in Macau are the Macau Tower and Conventi0on Center which is the 10th highest freestanding tower in the world and 8th in Asia, taller than the Eiffel Tower of Paris. The tower offers panoramic views of the Macau, China, the Pearl River and some islands of Hong Kong; and the Monte Fort Corridor which features the Macao Heritage Tour exhibition (, 2006).


            All the attractions in Macau, as noted above, are the core resources which are the bases of competitiveness. They serve Macau’s competitive advantage over the others because they reflect the culture and history of Macau. Tourists re interested in exploring and experiencing the culture of a destination. Cultural tourism is defined as the activity which enables people to explore or experience the different way of life of other people, reflecting social customs, religious traditions and the intellectual ideas of cultural heritage which may be unfamiliar (, 2003).


Supporting Factors


            Macau has begun developing tourist facilities. In 1995, Macau opened the Macau International Airport which serves as a vital link to the neighboring Hong Kong, Southern China, the Pacific Rim and other parts of the world (1999). The city is also considered as one of the modern, well-equipped cities in Asia and part of its modernization are reclamation land projects such as the Nam Van Lakes that has added 20 percent more land to the Macau Peninsula (1999). This reclaimed land has being developed into recreational, business and residential spaces. Transportation links has also been upgraded such as the improvement of the Ka Ho Port and the city’s water supply and treatment plants are now recognized as meeting world’s standards.


            At present, Macau has over 100 hotels including the Holiday Inn, Hotel Lisboa, Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the Royal Macau hotel with entertainment and recreational facilities such as bars and restaurants serving authentic Chinese and Western Cuisine.


Destination Management Organization


According to Macau Government Tourist Office which serves as the Destination Management Organization, DMO, of Macau, the first tourism office in Macau was only under the Economic Department in 1957 (2003) whose functions were limited to providing communication and information services to tourists and did not function as marketing and advertising sector for tourism.


In 1980s, the Portuguese government, realizing that they were beginning to lack political power over Macau due to de-colonization, felt the need to preserve the cultural heritage and influence over Macau thus the foundation of Macau Government Tourist Office, MGTO, in 1995 which plays important role in the tourism industry of Macau (2002).


            MGTO has a vision of making Macau “an independent, multi-faceted, short-break destination and gateway”. Its role is to promote and advertise tourism in Macau and creates projects and events that will promote local performing arts, lifestyles, religious events and ceremonies as well as the variety of museums and historical buildings across Macau (2003). One strategy of the organization is to have links with countries all over the world by setting up 18 marketing or public relations offices in different countries including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, India, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, United Kingdom, and France (, 2006). Through these marketing offices, it can easily promote Macau as a tourist destination along with the events and tourism projects in Macau. MGTO provided direction to the tourism development, and structured the image of the destination and influenced tourists’ cultural experience (2003). Basically, MGTO formulates strategies and action plans and market tourism in Macau.


            Under the MGTO are the Cultural Institute of Macau and the Cultural Heritage Department who worked closely on heritage building conservation for the purpose of “affirmation of identity” (2002). The cultural institute aims to maintain, preserve and renovate the local cultural, historical and architectural heritage and to develop regulations to ensure that it remains available for the public to enjoy. The promotion of research to help the community understand Macau’s culture and heritage better is another of its goals (, 2002).            As the DMO of Macau, MGTO leads and coordinate the tourism sectors in Macau.


Socio-Cultural Sustainability


             The preservation of social and cultural assets is very important for Macau. Its social and rich cultural assets are its core resource and its main advantage over other destinations. Also, because of tourism, Macau has realized the importance of preserving these assets not only for economic reasons but more importantly for the enhancement of the status of Macau and for the history the city. The Sino-Portuguese culture of Macau gives us the concept of ‘East meets West’ tourism industry. Macau has effectively developed the gaming and tourism industry and has preserved its uniqueness from other Chinese cities as well to other cities in Asia.


            The Cultural Institute of Macau with a budget of over USmillion in 2002 has enacted a broad strategy for the publication, establishment and maintenance of libraries and archives, cultural and artistic events, arts and film festival to the running and maintenance of the Macau Conservatory, the Museum of Macau and various libraries (2006).


            The Macau Government Tourist Office has its own website. The website is generally intended for promotions and for tourists. It features the different events and projects of the tourism industry, travel information and most especially the different must-sees in Macau.


            The Cultural Heritage Department is the one more focus on the sustainability and preservation of cultural heritage of Macau. The department is responsible in classifying, restoring, renovating and upgrading Macau’s cultural heritage, including buildings and artifacts. It issues reports limiting building work in the protected area and drawing up plans to restore buildings that are in the state of decay (, 2006). It also publishes laws that protect the cultural heritage of Macau (see appendix A). Sustainable tourism can be effectively be implemented through an effective legislative framework that establishes standards that should be follow by different sectors.


            As part of sustaining tourism in Macau, the liberalization of gambling took over in 2002 that attracted Las Vegas gaming consortia such as The Venetian and Wynn Resorts (2006). Macau has maintained its comparative advantage over other Asian countries in Asia where gambling is heavily restricted. No other city in Asia is vying to become the region’s gambling capital (2005). Macau’s stiffest competition comes from Las Vegas where rich Asians go for gambling. But this comparative advantage of Macau should have sustainability plan because Hong Kong and other neighboring countries like Korea and Singapore are planning to expand their gambling industries. Hong Kong has a plan to build casinos near Disneyland aiming to have new sources of tax revenue (2005).


            Because of the tourism in Macau, other assets such infrastructures, airports and transportation facilities as well as hotels and entertainment infrastructures were developed in Macau and being sustained through the Macau Government Tourist Office and other organizations formed by the government.


Macau has also maintained its comparative advantage over other Asian countries in Asia where gambling is heavily restricted. No other city in Asia is vying to become the region’s gambling capital (2005). Macau’s stiffest competition comes from Las Vegas where rich Asians go for gambling. But this comparative advantage of Macau should have sustainability plan because Hong Kong and other neighboring countries like Korea and Singapore are planning to expand their gambling industries. Hong Kong has a plan to build casinos near Disneyland aiming to have new sources of tax revenue (2005).


Conclusion


            Generally, tourism can be promoted through flaunting and promoting effectively the core resources of a destination. Behind its promotion should be a well planned activities backed up by policy that will make the industry sustainable not only economically but also socially and culturally.


            Macau’s tourism and gambling industry is deeply rooted on its history making it a competitive destination not only in Asia but also in the world. Its government aim of preserving Macau’s rich cultural heritage led to tourism and apparently tourism helps in the sustainability of the culture and history of Macau making the industry plays key role in the economic development of Macau.


            It can be concluded that because of the incorporation of the culture of Portuguese with the Chinese culture, people find the place attractive. Through proper destination management of Macau’s Destination Management Organization, the MGTO, Macau has been developed into a hot tourist destination. 


 


 



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