Trade fair to bring good fortune
Wolfram Diener, Vice President of Convention and Exhibition Venetian Macau Ltd talks about a grand project.
What trade fair facilities are planned for Macao?
Our project, The Venetian Macau, is a fully integrated hotel resort in which more than two billion US dollars has been invested. A 100,000 m2 trade fair and congress centre, a resort hotel with 2900 suites, a mega shopping mall and a casino will all be housed under one roof.
What will be so special about it?
The whole complex is a replica of Venice. Besides numerous top restaurants and bars, spas and outdoor recreational activities, a 2000-seat theatre for shows and a 15,000-seat arena for musicals, sporting events et cetera will also be opening. The Venetian Macau will become the flagship of the Cotai Strip, Asia's answer to the Las Vegas Strip. When finished, this project will offer an extremely attractive destination for business and pleasure trips.
Who had the idea?
The idea came from the government, which last year deregulated the casino industry. Sheldon Adelson, who owns our parent company in Las Vegas Sands and, incidentally, also founded the IT trade fair Comdex, recognised this opportunity and immediately launched into the project planning, thus reaping considerable recognition from the government. Until now Macao has had a reputation as a seamy gambling city. But now the tiny territory is seeking to shed that image by attracting trade fair and convention visitors and holidaymakers.
What are you hoping to achieve - especially with a much larger trade fair venue, Hong Kong, just across the water?
Macao will complement Hong Kong as an exhibition location. Hong Kong's forte is as a platform for trade fairs for consumer export goods. Macao doesn't meet the conditions to follow in Hong Kong's footsteps, but will find it's own path to success. By the year 2008, the Cotai Strip will offer a destination to both trade fair exhibitors and visitors that is so attractive that it will be possible to stage almost any topic.
What makes you so sure?
A closer look at the way Las Vegas, in which Sheldon Adelson plays a key role, has developed, gives us some insight into Macao's potential. Las Vegas is now America's uncontested leading trade fair venue. Many shows did not choose Las Vegas because supply and demand for those industries is particularly strong in that region, but because everyone likes going there.
What are your plans for the coming years?
The convention and exhibition centre will open its doors to the public as part of Venetian Macau in October 2007. Over the next two years our biggest job will be to do everything to ensure that commissioning goes smoothly and, of course, canvass for business. Interview: Christine Seizinger
m+a report Nr.8 / 2005 vom 08.12.2005
m+a report vom 8. Dezember 2005