Macau’s top job candidate eyes more residency shows at casinos to boost tourism in city

Macau’s sole chief executive candidate has pledged to encourage casino operators to run more residency shows to boost tourism amid reports that British pop icon Adele turned down an invitation to perform in the city.

Residency shows refer to an entertainment act at a fixed venue, such as casino resorts, that runs for an extended period.

Sam Hou-fai, the former president of Macau’s Court of Final Appeal, also told a town hall meeting on Saturday that the gaming hub had to work on its shortcomings to catch up with Hong Kong and Shenzhen in terms of competitiveness and give full play to its connections with Portuguese-speaking countries.

“In the past five years since the Greater Bay Area [blueprint was launched], we have not felt our advantages,” Sam said. “Our competitiveness in several aspects is not as good as others.

“We are falling behind Shenzhen’s technology [developments], Guangzhou’s comprehensive capabilities and Hong Kong’s financial centre. Our competitiveness needs to be improved.”

The candidate also lamented that Macau had not made the most of its advantages in linking up with Portuguese-speaking countries and the rest of the world, and had not done enough to integrate with the Greater Bay Area in terms of alignment of rules and professional recognition.