Looking at tourism trends in Macao | The Final Word
A company behind high-end resorts here and overseas is opening a sales office in the country to attract more Filipinos to Macao.
Here's my interview with Kevin Benning of Melco's Studio City Integrated Resort.
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Here's my interview with Kevin Benning of Melco's Studio City Integrated Resort.
Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/
Follow our social media pages:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines
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NewsTranscript
00:00 A company behind high-end resorts here and overseas is opening a sales office in the country
00:05 to help boost tourism in Macau.
00:08 I spoke with Kevin Benning of Melco Studios City Integrated Resort
00:12 about how China's gambling capital is bouncing back amid the pandemic.
00:17 Kevin, great to have you with us on The Final Word on CNN Philippines.
00:22 It's a pleasure to be here.
00:23 So Kevin, before the pandemic,
00:25 80% of Macau's government revenues came from gaming and entertainment.
00:31 And of course, COVID threw all of that into a tailspin.
00:36 Has business now recovered?
00:38 Look, the Macau business continues to recover.
00:41 Since the borders have reopened in January, we've been very pleased.
00:45 Macau as a whole is nearly at 80% recovery.
00:49 And we're continuing to see this past Golden Week was very strong
00:53 with some of the best visitation figures since the reopening in January.
00:59 And of course, the basic thrust over the past year and a half
01:04 has been revenge travel, revenge spending.
01:08 Has that been sustained?
01:10 Yeah, it is something that we've seen, you know,
01:13 particularly from some of our other regions like Hong Kong, Southeast Asia.
01:17 We've had some strong return from those regions with some of our VIPs.
01:24 You know, China continues to be a very good market, as you can imagine.
01:28 Apart from China, which other markets have also been contributing to Melco's bottom line?
01:36 A lot of Southeast Asia, you know, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore.
01:42 That is something that we have focused on over the years,
01:46 particularly with our property here.
01:48 We have the market intelligence, so to speak.
01:50 We have the networks.
01:52 And as well as mentioned, you know, Malaysia and Singapore
01:55 will always be something that we also put a lot of focus into.
01:59 And how important is the Philippine market?
02:02 Your property in the country is the city of dreams.
02:07 How important is the city of dreams to Melco?
02:12 It's extremely important.
02:14 It's part of our DNA.
02:16 We have beautiful properties all around the world,
02:19 and our property here in Manila is a big piece of that.
02:23 It's been something over the last five or six years that has been,
02:29 pre-pandemic, astronomical growth coming from this market.
02:33 And it's something that we're very proud of with what the city of dreams Manila team has accomplished here,
02:39 and just watching this market continue to prosper and grow.
02:42 What other innovations and changes can we expect from the city of dreams Manila going forward?
02:50 Look, I think there's always room for more innovation.
02:54 We've put a lot of focus into our Melco Club app over the last few years,
02:58 particularly during the pandemic, you know, getting some chances to build some new best practices into it.
03:04 And it's something that we've found very popular with our guests.
03:07 And we're always looking at how to utilize social media and other avenues, as we know,
03:12 particularly in the Philippines, Facebook is huge.
03:15 You know, Viber is huge.
03:17 And we have our digital teams that are constantly looking at how else they can leverage different platforms to reach out to a new audience.
03:25 The digital platforms, social media, have indeed, Kevin, accelerated, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
03:34 But, of course, over the past few months, front and center has been artificial intelligence.
03:41 How are you integrating AI into the operations of Melco?
03:46 Look, I think we were one of the first, at least in Asia, when it comes to AI, with our Melvis chatbot that we've utilized within our hotel teams.
03:55 In Macau, we've also worked closely with WeChat, the biggest platform in China, for what is the Melco style app.
04:03 Which is a non-gaming, hospitality-driven app that allows us to reach more and more guests,
04:10 to focus on all of the amazing entertainment and attractions that Melco offers around Macau.
04:15 And when you go to Macau, the first thing that comes to mind is gaming.
04:22 How is the Melco Group, through all of its properties, expanding beyond gaming and giving its customers and clients more entertainment?
04:34 I think you used the exact phrase that our chairman, Lawrence Ho, uses. It's beyond gaming.
04:39 There's so much more that Melco offers besides gaming.
04:43 And we've always taken great pride in our hotels and our F&B.
04:50 We have multiple Michelin award-winning restaurants.
04:53 We have Forbes five-star hotels in all of our resorts in Macau, as well as the Philippines.
05:00 And the other thing we've put a lot of focus on with Melco is entertainment.
05:04 The House of Dancing Water is something that was legendary since City of Dreams Macau opened.
05:10 And since then, we've added the world's largest figure-eight Ferris wheel at the Golden Reel at Studio City.
05:16 We've added the indoor and outdoor water park.
05:20 We've added multiple kids amusement parks with Kids City at City of Dreams and the Super Fun Zone at Studio Cities.
05:30 Melco's properties, apart from City of Dreams, in Macau also includes Altera, Studio City, which you are the general manager of this property, and the Moha Clubs.
05:41 Here in the Philippines, you have City of Dreams.
05:44 Does Melco plan to expand its properties here in the country, not only focused in Metro Manila, but in also other parts of the country?
05:56 I think our Metro Manila property we have right now, it will continue to be our main focus.
06:01 But we're always open to the right opportunities and the right markets.
06:05 It's something that we would always be willing to listen to.
06:08 Filipinos are always proud to be working in international organizations.
06:16 In the Melco Group in Macau, how many Filipinos are working there and in which departments?
06:23 Look, I don't have the exact numbers. It's in the hundreds.
06:27 And they're in a variety of roles.
06:29 Some of my favorite ones work at Studio City in a restaurant we call Rossi.
06:37 And some of the best pizza chefs you'll see are from the Philippines in that restaurant.
06:42 And they do a phenomenal job.
06:44 Our housekeeping teams have numerous Filipinos there.
06:51 Security, I spent a lot of time working here in Manila.
06:55 And some of the favorite parts of my day is just when I walk across our properties and I run into our colleagues that used to work in Manila
07:02 that are now working for us in Macau and just watching them light up with excitement
07:08 as they're working in Studio City, as they're working in City of Dreams, as they're working in Altiera for our Macau teams.
07:15 It's phenomenal to watch.
07:17 What makes the Filipino employee special for the Melco Group?
07:22 I think it's their heart. It's their passion.
07:26 The amount of love that they put into their job.
07:29 Is Melco continuing to expand its operations?
07:32 And do you plan to hire more Filipinos, especially for the property that you manage, which is Studio City?
07:39 There's been a lot of expansion already for Studio City.
07:42 As far as the talent that we recruit, we will always look towards the Philippines
07:48 as we're looking for skilled expats and bringing in some people, like I said, with that heart and that passion for service that the Philippines brings.
08:00 And Kevin, you are an industry veteran.
08:02 You've worked in the U.S., in Singapore, and here in the Philippines.
08:10 What makes the Philippines special compared to the other markets where Melco has businesses?
08:19 I think one of the things that I found really special about the Philippines market is you have a little bit of everything.
08:27 In the Macau market, it is much more of a, so to speak, a transient market, where the guests are coming less frequent from different regions.
08:37 But the Manila market has a very strong locals market.
08:43 But you also have Filipino locals who might be coming from Cebu, who might be coming from other regions of the Philippines.
08:51 Plus, you have all of the other foreign guests that come in here.
08:54 So from a business standpoint, you have a lot to factor into here on how you handle your locals and how you handle your international guests.
09:03 And Lawrence Ho leads Melco Resorts and Entertainment.
09:10 How committed is he in making additional investments in the Philippines?
09:17 He's very committed to the Philippines.
09:19 He's very committed to City of Dreams Manila.
09:22 We continue to focus on making this property a better place and continuing to focus on just how we develop that next stage for City of Dreams Manila.
09:33 Kevin Benning, Melco Resorts and Entertainment, and the property general manager of Studio City in Macau.
09:40 Thank you so much for joining us on CNN Philippines.
09:42 Thank you.