Increasing Chinese Tourist Gamblers in Macao: Crucial Player Characteristics to Identify and Exploit

Casinos are today considered major tourist attractions and are a strategic component in the development of a tourism destination. Tourist gamblers are an important market segment providing a reliable source of revenue for casinos. It is necessary to understand the characteristics of these gamblers and to design services and products that cater for their needs. In this study a survey of 402 Chinese tourist gamblers indicated that they have distinctive characteristics, gambling motivations, behaviors and preferences that must be considered and catered to for depth of understanding and devising ways to attract, keep and increase these important customers. Management and marketing implications for local casino operators and destination marketers are drawn

Social impacts of casino gaming in Macao: A qualitative analysis

The casino gaming sector has witnessed rapid growth worldwide in the past three decades. As the casino industry has been developing rapidly, it is important to understand the pros and cons of casino development and seek ways to minimize the potential negative impacts. This study investigates the social consequences of casino gaming in Macao since the liberalization of casino licensing in 2002, using a qualitative research method. The results reveal that the expansion of casino gaming did bring certain social benefits to the community, such as increased personal incomes and improvement in the city\u27s financial power, landscape, infrastructure and facilities, and the enlargement of entertainment and recreation facilities. There were also many negative social costs, including; uncontrolled urban development, reduction of public leisure and green spaces, heavy traffic and traffic congestion, a high drop-out rate among school students, increase in problem gambling and crime, increased demand for counselling services and public health treatment, deteriorating quality of life and finally the difficulties of many small and medium-sized businesses in competing with the larger casino businesses. The results indicate that the challenges outweigh the benefits. Policy implications for destination managers in Macao and in other locales intending to open casinos are offered

Governance of residential land use planning in Hong Kong

published_or_final_versionUrban Planning and Environmental ManagementDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph

WHAT ATTRIBUTES ARE SOUGHT BY CHINESE CASINO VISITORS WHEN THEY VISIT A CASINO?

Understanding what attributes are sought by casino visitors during their visit to a casino can enable casino operators to enhance the quality of service elements. This study assessed the important casino attributes that casino visitors seek when visiting a casino. The study also seek to identify the major segments of casino visitors with similar preferences for casino attributes, and determine whether difference(s) may exist between segments in terms of trip behavior and socio-demographic characteristics. Using the benefit segmentation approach, quantitative data were collected from 371 Chinese casino visitors. Four distinct segments of Chinese casino visitors were identified; namely games customers, casual tryout customers, employee service customers, and casino goers. Two segments were actually concerned with gaming specifically. Based on the findings, we established that casinos need to identify strategic segments and allocate adequate resources to achieve the competitive advantages of each segment. Casinos also need to develop innovative products or services for particular segments whose members may not see gaming as the main reason to visit casinos. This research highlights the need to use benefit segmentation to understand the visitors to casino properties

Mainland Chinese Casino Visitors to Macau: Linking Service, Brand Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty

Few studies have investigated the moderating influence of brand image on customer satisfaction and loyalty. The purpose of this study was to examine the link from casino service to satisfaction (affective and cognitive satisfaction) and loyalty (revisit intention and intention to recommend). The influence of brand image as a moderator was also proposed. A quantitative survey was conducted with 240 casino visitors in Macau. The findings demonstrate that cognitively and affectively satisfied customers were more inclined to revisit and recommend a casino. These relations were stronger for customers who scored higher in brand image than for those who scored lower. The moderating influence of brand image was supported for revisit intention but was not supported for recommendation. The study provides promotional marketing strategies for the casino industry and theoretical suggestions for future study