• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Sunday 1 June 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
  • 日本語
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
  • 日本語
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

Immunity Imperative

Professor Glenn McCartney by Professor Glenn McCartney
Mon 5 Jul 2021 at 15:53
Immunity Imperative
39
SHARES
983
VIEWS
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Overcoming vaccine hesitancy may be the key to helping Macau’s integrated resort and tourism operators stage a faster recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

When will Macau’s casino revenues return to 2019/pre-pandemic levels? This is something I have been regularly asked ever since the COVID-19 outbreak forced the sudden cancellation of Macau’s Golden Week Chinese New Year celebrations in January 2020 and the closure of its casinos for 15 days shortly after.

It is clear that the trajectory of Macau’s casino and tourism recovery, and building resilience, is based on medical data and science, with medical professionals directing us towards nucleic acid testing, track and trace technology, and containment of COVID-19 surges and new virus variants. A recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases in nearby Guangzhou highlighted just how quickly the recovery trajectory can change, with visitation to Macau and casino revenues taking an immediate hit. Certainly short-term predictions around GGR revenue looked vastly better a month ago given there was little indication such a setback was about to impact one of Macau’s key visitor source areas.

Some reporting in Guangzhou following the new virus resurgence described an increase in vaccination rates as a result. This is notable as it shows one of the key factors in overcoming vaccine hesitancy challenges has been a perceived threat from the virus. Vaccination levels are now embedded in tourism, hospitality, event and entertainment industry recovery strategies globally, becoming a central component to re-openings.

Similarly, the Macau government has over several months urged the adult population to get vaccinated, launching a city-wide public health campaign that has included an easy-to-use online vaccination booking platform and multiple vaccination locations.

Recently, financial and time-off-work incentives provided by Macau’s six casino concessionaires have led to increased vaccination numbers among their staff. The incentive tactic again has proved to be an effective measure to convince some who are hesitant to take the vaccine.

I recently wrote, “While maintaining a city safe from COVID-19, Macau is now challenged to quicken its community immunity goal given the onset of multiple COVID-19 variants in Asia. Macau is economically dependent on tourism, and with this, the continuous opening of borders – the travel bubble has ensured some visitation. Still it is limiting and more is needed to bring the industry to profit.”

This was part of the concluding remarks in a recently published commentary by myself and co-author José Pinto in the medical journal The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific on Macau’s vaccination challenge and its link to tourism recovery, casino profitability and fostering city resilience.

Not long ago, I was one of five adults in the elevator of a Macau hotel. I calculated that statistically, only one of us was vaccinated. I was tempted to conduct an on-the-spot elevator survey asking everyone, “Did you take the vaccine? Why? Why not?”

Creating more data on vaccine hesitancy in Macau would certainly be valuable in navigating a path to higher inoculation rates, including information around age, education level, household structure, employment sector, resident/non-resident and more to help guide the government’s vaccination messaging and imagery. Useful data around vaccinating those aged under 16 years may also become a possibility in the future.

The issue of increasing vaccination, as part of ongoing border reopening and recovery, needs to consider the assertions in the medical literature that, like the seasonal flu, COVID-19 will be an endemic disease.

However, as Y. Lau wrote in a Hong Kong Medical Journal article titled “Looking beyond COVID-19 as a pandemic, “With the attainment of herd immunity through vaccination … this will render COVID-19 as a common cold rather than a severe disease. This is the preferred and most likely future scenario, rather than global eradication, which is unrealistic.”

Given this future possible scenario, Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination level, COVID-19 mandates, proof of vaccination and annual vaccination boosters will likely become part of the normal discourse across Macau’s casino, hospitality, tourism, retail, transportation and event sectors. They are factors that should perhaps be inserted as part of future scenario planning and dashboard metrics on what a casino and tourism recovery trajectory and timeframe looks like for Macau.

RelatedPosts

Editorial – The real reason Philippines casino revenues are down

Editorial – The real reason Philippines casino revenues are down

Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 23:04
Inside Thai IRs

Inside Thai IRs

Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 22:59
Resorts World Las Vegas – Lighting up the north

Resorts World Las Vegas – Lighting up the north

Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 22:52
A baccarat perspective

A baccarat perspective

Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 22:37
Load More
Tags: covid-19Current IssueVaccination
Share16Share3
Professor Glenn McCartney

Professor Glenn McCartney

Professor Glenn McCartney MBE is an Associate Professor of International Integrated Resort Management at the University of Macau, China, where he also serves as Acting Associate Dean (Curriculum and Teaching) in the Faculty of Business Administration. He worked for many years in different operational, strategic and consultancy roles within the tourism, hospitality and gaming industry.

Current Issue

Editorial – The real reason Philippines casino revenues are down

Editorial – The real reason Philippines casino revenues are down

by Ben Blaschke
Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 23:04

After enjoying a post-COVID surge in gaming revenues at its licensed casinos, the Philippines has hit a rocky patch. In...

Inside Thai IRs

Inside Thai IRs

by Andrew W Scott and Ben Blaschke
Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 22:59

No time to read this whole article? Here are the bullet points! With passage of Thailand’s Entertainment Complex Bill through...

Resorts World Las Vegas – Lighting up the north

Resorts World Las Vegas – Lighting up the north

by Andrew W Scott and Ben Blaschke
Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 22:52

Inside Asian Gaming recently visited Genting’s American icon Resorts World Las Vegas to take a closer look at a property...

A baccarat perspective

A baccarat perspective

by Ryan Hong-Wai Ho
Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 22:37

In the first of a two-part series, Ryan Ho explores how gaming innovations and market changes have shaped the prominence...

Evolution Asia
Aristocrat
GLI
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
Nustar
Jumbo

Related Posts

Editorial – The real reason Philippines casino revenues are down

Editorial – The real reason Philippines casino revenues are down

by Ben Blaschke
Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 23:04

After enjoying a post-COVID surge in gaming revenues at its licensed casinos, the Philippines has hit a rocky patch. In 2024, while the broader gaming industry enjoyed a significant boost thanks to the growth of the E-Games segment, gross gaming...

A baccarat perspective

A baccarat perspective

by Ryan Hong-Wai Ho
Sun 30 Mar 2025 at 22:37

In the first of a two-part series, Ryan Ho explores how gaming innovations and market changes have shaped the prominence of baccarat in Macau’s gaming industry. Macau casinos have long been synonymous with baccarat. The evolution of Macau’s gaming industry...

Editorial – The waiting game

Editorial – The waiting game

by Ben Blaschke
Wed 26 Feb 2025 at 14:56

Recent rumors suggesting that US private equity giant Blackstone could make a move to acquire Australia’s ailing Star Entertainment Group echo similar talk that has been doing the rounds across the industry over the past few months, particularly since Star...

Macau government said to have reached consensus with bidders for combined US$12.5 billion investment during new 10-year concession period

OPINION: Has Macau hit a GGR ceiling?

by David Bonnet
Tue 11 Feb 2025 at 13:31

Macau casinos’ shrinking gross gaming revenue (GGR) may be a wake-up call, suggesting performance has hit a ceiling, and requiring new catalysts to stimulate growth. Tourism’s comeback from the COVID scourge heralded a potential renaissance for Macau’s economic growth. Improved...



IAG

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • 中文
  • 日本語

No Result
View All Result
  • 中文
  • 日本語
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • 中文
  • English
  • 日本語