The 4th Mastering Cotai, was sponsored by Sands China and hosted by the Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management in Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Macau. Postgraduate students from the department focused on the contemporary topics and shared empirical research results to provide suggestions for business operations. This article was originally published by Cherry Hong at the “The 4th Mastering Cotai”.  The Instructor is Prof. Glenn McCartney, associate professor of International Integrated Resort Management at the University of Macau)

Development of Macao integrated resort entertainment performances

Since mainland China and Macau announced the cancellation of customs clearance restrictions on January 8, 2023, the number of tourists in Macau has begun to increase significantly. At the same time, the Macau Government Tourist Office launched a number of activities and incentives to attract tourists. According to reports, tourist arrivals in Macau surpassed 50,000 in mid-January, the highest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with any tourist city, the challenge is how to attract tourists to stay longer and thus spend more. Holding events and entertainment is a common practice and the subject of this study.

This study investigates the attractiveness of entertainment shows in integrated resorts in Macau to mainland Chinese tourists. Based on previous research, the impact of entertainment shows on integrated resorts is significant from several perspectives; hosting entertainment shows can generate ticket revenue, enhance the attractiveness of integrated resorts, and potentially extend the time travelers spend at hotels, restaurants, and throughout the resort. Its influence extends not only to entire integrated resorts, but also to entire cities. Small businesses can get involved in attracting and retaining travelers, thereby generating side sales and revenue. In addition, entertainment performances are also an important marketing tool for promoting Macau in the Mainland.

So far, Macau has not provided the depth and breadth of non-gaming tourism products like Las Vegas. In recent years, the on-site performances of integrated resorts in Macau have been suspended due to factors such as the drop in box office and the epidemic. From the characteristics of performance production, it can be seen that integrated resort operators are only interested in developing short-term performances, but do not pay attention to long-term on-site performances. This is because audiences adapt quickly to new things and prefer frequent and changeable entertainment performances.

The House of Dancing Water, produced by Franco Dragone at the City of Dreams (COD), is an example of entertainment on the Cotai Strip and the longest-running resident show in Macau. Since its premiere in 2010, The House of Dancing Water has attracted 5 million viewers and gained international acclaim, cementing City of Dreams’ reputation as one of Macau’s iconic resorts. The show was cut in half in 2020, and Lawrence Ho, CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment Co., Ltd. announced that the show will resume at the end of 2024 after the renovation of the facilities. In fact, Lawrence Ho also revealed that Melco is planning to hold live performances with Hong Kong pop singers including Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai and Joey Yung, and is expected to perform about 90 performances between 2023 and 2025.

Given that mainland tourists are the main source of tourists in Macau, how the development of live performances can attract the attention of mainland audiences is a key. For example, now might be a good time to introduce more diverse entertainment such as “talk shows” and immersive theater.  The “Talk Show” competition series “Talk Show Conference” launched in 2017 has quickly become one of the most popular reality TV programs in mainland China. What followed was a boom in “talk shows” and theater performances in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. At the same time, immersive theater, which originated in the UK and has been introduced to the Chinese market in recent years, has attracted great attention from millennials and Generation Z. Since such performances are usually held in the evening and last for several hours, they can prolong the stay of tourists, increase the number of repeat visits, and spread positive word-of-mouth recommendations for Macau’s tourism image.

Sources for article: plataformamedia.com