It's hard to fully comprehend the changes that are about to swamp Macau but Yeoh Siew Hoon catches a glimmer of the future that will be from her recent visit.

I was once a frequent visitor to Macau. I would hop over there almost every weekend from Hong Kong and spend lazy days mostly discovering Coloane, walking through its villages and taking long seaside walks.

In the evenings, I would pop into Fernando's, drink the best sangria and tuck into claypot crabs, roasted quail and grilled sardines.

Then I stopped visiting for almost 10 years until last week when I was invited to the book launch of "The New Macau" by travel editor Jennifer Welker.

I had to fly into Hong Kong which was bursting at the seams because of the Rugby Sevens World Cup. I then took a ferry across to Macau.

It felt like nothing had changed. The ferry terminal, the turbo jets, the immigration and customs check points – they were like I remembered them.

It seemed too that the same smog and fog – whatever you choose to call it – was still hanging over Macau, except it is probably thicker these days.

It was only as we approached Macau that I saw the first sign of change – you can't miss the Sands signage. It is big, bold and red.

The Sands is the first American casino to open in Macau, after a 40-year gaming monopoly held by Stanley Ho.

It is only the beginning though of the changes that will soon envelop Macau and transform it into "The New Macau".

Which is exactly what author Jennifer Welker wants us to imagine in her book.

Daring us to imagine "a new city, a new experience", she says, "These are exciting times for Macau. It is a city thrown into overdrive, where the pace of change is unstoppable. This is Asia's first real shot at an East-West destination dedicated to fun."

Fittingly, the launch was held at the Macau Military Club, possibly the last bastion of Portuguese colonial heritage.

As I watched two old Portuguese men drinking their port and smoking their cigars in the bar, I wondered whether they fully comprehended what was about to happen to their former colony – if indeed they cared.

As I watched the 100 or so local folks gathered for the book launch, I also wondered how many of them fully understood the changes that are about to take place in their city.

Indeed, I wonder how many of us working in the travel industry in Asia have fully grasped what's about to happen to the old Macau.

As a visitor, even today, it is hard to imagine the full scope of the transformation that will be.

Yes, there are more taller buildings. Downtown, the casinos seem brighter and gaudier. You see more construction activity.

You drive by the Cotai Strip and you cannot imagine that in four years' time, this plot of land will have "all of which you find in Las Vegas, Nevada, from the Venetian commercial and exhibition centres, theatres, many restaurants, shopping malls, family entertainment and 60,000 hotel rooms", so says Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Imagine. 60,000 hotel rooms on one site – that's double the number of branded hotel rooms in the whole of Singapore.

At a press conference on Friday, Las Vegas Sands Corp announced that Dorsett Hotel Group, Four Seasons Hotels, Hilton Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, Regal Hotels, Marriott International and Starwood Hotel and Resorts Worldwide would build and operate six 1,500-room hotels on the Cotai Strip.

Las Vegas Sands is building the US$1.8 billion Venetian Macau, which will open with 1,500 rooms and serve as the anchor of the Cotai Strip.

The initial Cotai development is expected to open in 2007 with 10,000 hotel rooms, meeting and convention facilities and several theaters.

Adelson is not the only international player taking a bet on Macau becoming the resort destination in Asia.

Galaxy Resort opened its first casino last July. Steve Wynn, MGM Grand and Kerry Packer who has partnered with Stanley Ho are also coming in.

Every player is throwing big numbers at their projects – not only in dollar terms but also in gaming facilities and space.

Every player is of course banking on Macau's proximity to China, the world's biggest market of gamblers.

In Welker's book, Alan Zeman, director of Wynn Resorts, paints a day when visitors can drive from Hong Kong to Macau, and over to Zhuhai and Guangzhou.

Mainland China is supporting several infrastructure improvements to help bring people to the region, including a new ferry terminal and airport that is expected to open in 2007; an 18-mile bridge connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau that could open by 2011; and a proposed light-rail system that is to open in 2009.

Walking through the village of Coloane and seeing the same familiar menu at Fernando's again on this re-visit to Macau, I must say it was hard for me to imagine the new Macau.

Perhaps it was because I didn't want to imagine it – every traveller longs for nostalgia and things past.

It was only when I sat on the beach and looked across the water and realised that Zhuhai and thus, the promise of the golden land, was, at best, a 10-minute swim away that I caught a glimmer of the future.

That, plus being on a ferry from Macau to Hong Kong airport, jam packed with mainland Chinese travellers who had obviously spent a couple of days trying their luck in Macau.

That, I imagine, will form a big part of the new Macau.

Note: Photos courtesy of "The New Macau". To read their press release, please click HERE



The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection". She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.
Contacts: Tel: 65-63424934, Mobile: 65-96801460

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