{"id":3614,"date":"2018-04-06T10:06:20","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T02:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.ift.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/?p=3614"},"modified":"2018-04-06T10:10:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T02:10:26","slug":"the-house-doesnt-always-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/the-house-doesnt-always-win\/","title":{"rendered":"The house doesn\u2019t always win"},"content":{"rendered":"\u4e2d\u6587\u6458\u8981 \/ Summary in Chinese<\/span>\n

The jury is still out on the impact of Macao\u2019s rapid casino-led economic development on residents\u2019 livelihoods. So concludes a study by 2 scholars from IFT.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is debatable whether casino tourism development has achieved the desired livelihood outcomes for Macao residents, despite casino tourism development being considered one of the mainstay activities and a primary tool to improve Macao residents\u2019 livelihood,\u201d scholars Dr. Jose But Wing Pong and Dr. John Ap wrote.<\/p>\n

Their paper, \u201cThe impacts of casino tourism development on Macao residents\u2019 livelihood\u201d, was published last year in the academic journal Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes. It was based on a combination of: semi-structured interviews with professionals, managers and individuals employed in either the tourism or non-tourism sectors; document analysis; secondary data; and personal observations.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents in this study acknowledge and realise the benefits and costs of rapid casino tourism development,\u201d Dr. But and Dr. Ap said. \u201cMany interviewees agree that while the gaming industry has provided more job opportunities and overall income levels have increased, improvements in residents\u2019 livelihoods and quality of life vary depending on the nature of the resident\u2019s job and whether it is directly or indirectly related to tourism or gaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macao\u2019s economy has recorded strong economic growth since the city\u2019s casino industry was liberalised in 2002. The city\u2019s gross domestic product (GDP) almost tripled between 2002 and 2016, while GDP per capita doubled during the same period, according to data from Macao\u2019s Statistics and Census Service. The number of casinos rose from 11 as of 2002 to 41 following January\u2019s opening of the MGM Cotai resort.<\/p>\n

Uneven benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n

In their paper, Dr. But and Dr. Ap said \u201csignificant benefits from high employment opportunities and income\u201d \u2013 connected with Macao\u2019s casino-led economic growth \u2013 could be found across the city. But they added: \u201cThe poverty level in Macao has shown no significant improvement due to an increased and high cost of living.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their study, the researchers focused on impacts the city\u2019s economic boom had had on 6 livelihood-related areas: employment; income; human resource issues; transportation; cost of living; and poverty.<\/p>\n

The IFT scholars explained that often government officials directly assume that poor people and low-income earners will economically benefit from casino tourism development. \u201cUnfortunately, for some economically disadvantaged in the community, they may need to work longer hours to meet their basic living standard. This is, no doubt, attributed to slow and lagging income growth as well as the increasing and high costs of living,\u201d the IFT scholars said.<\/p>\n

They reported that the majority of those interviewed for their study had mentioned that the cost of living in Macao had increased \u201csignificantly\u201d in recent years. \u201cMany workers reported that they had received salary increases, but that these increases did not compensate for rising prices,\u201d the researchers noted, adding also that \u201chigher salaries in the gaming industry have created a gap\u201d compared to wages in other industries.<\/p>\n

Dr. But and Dr. Ap said that over the past decade, the Macao Government had \u201cfocused disproportionately\u201d on economic performance. \u201cEconomic growth has, no doubt, created employment opportunities, but this should not be considered as the sole means of development… The low-income and poor might [now] need to work longer hours to earn sufficient money for basic needs\u201d and rely on Government subsidies, the authors stated.<\/p>\n

The findings from their study also indicated issues for the local labour market regarding Macao\u2019s casino-led economic growth. These included negative impacts \u201cespecially for the development of small and medium-sized local businesses\u201d that had to compete with the wages and conditions offered to local workers by the casino operators.<\/p>\n

Dr. But and Dr. Ap said that while \u201ccasino tourism has not contributed enough to reduce poverty… it is still an important tool, which may be used to reduce poverty, providing that the proper approach is taken.\u201d To achieve that, the scholars advised policymakers and planners to take a \u201cbroader and better view of the consequences of casino tourism development\u201d.<\/p>\n

Their paper included suggestions \u2013 offered by interviewees that took part in the study \u2013 to address the negative impacts of casino tourism development on Macao residents\u2019 livelihood. These included improving the city\u2019s training and education systems, introducing a minimum wage for different industries, and ensuring a better community-wide distribution of revenue generated by the casino sector.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

More info<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
The researchers<\/div>\nIFT Lecturer Dr. Jose But Wing Pong earned a Ph.D. in Hotel and Tourism Management from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include the impacts of tourism in communities; social and cultural tourism; tourism forecasting; and tourism quality control techniques and applications. Dr. But joined IFT in 2004 following a stint with a research company in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

Dr. John Ap is a Visiting Professor at IFT, where he heads the Global Centre for Tourism Education and Training. Dr. Ap is an internationally-renowned expert in the field of tourism. He has been involved in a range of consultancy projects involving tourism and recreation planning studies, theme park studies, and market research surveys. Dr. Ap holds a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, in the United States. He joined IFT in 2016. Prior to becoming an academic in 1992, he worked for more than 11 years as a town planner in Australia, specialising in recreation and tourism planning.
\n<\/div>\n

The paper<\/div>\nJose But Wing Pong and John Ap: \u201cThe impacts of casino tourism development on Macao residents\u2019 livelihood\u201d, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Volume 9, Issue 3, pages 260-273, 2017.
\nhttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/WHATT-02-2017-0011<\/a>
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