Macau casino operators are struggling as more mainland Chinese tourists head to rivals in Cambodia, where travel costs are lower.
NagaCorp, operator of NagaWorld, Phnom Penh’s only casino, logged $125m in net profit for the January-June half - a 24 per cent year-on-year rise. Macau’s casino leaders fared less well.
Sands China’s bottom line for the half was 25 per cent lower than a year earlier at $550m. Profit at SJM Holdings plunged 39 per cent for the half to HK$1.09bn (US$140m).
Shifts in mainland Chinese tourism largely account for these divided fortunes. Visitor arrivals to Cambodia rose two per cent on the year for the January-May period, with most tourists coming from Vietnam, China and South Korea, according to the country's Ministry of Tourism.
Visitors from China increased 12 per cent. In Macau, mainland tourism dropped 0.4 per cent for the first half, despite a 0.1 per cent uptick in overall arrivals.
