Parisian Macao open for business
- October 5, 2016
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Five years in the making, at a cost of US$2.9 billion, The Parisian Macao opened it’s doors on 15 September. As the newest resort on the Cotai Strip, The Parisian Macao boasts a comprehensive range of integrated resort facilities that include 3,000 rooms and suites, 5,200 sqm of convention and meeting space (including The Parisian Ballroom, which can cater to 2,600 guests), international restaurants, a spa, kids’ club, health club and pool deck with themed water park, as well as a 1,200-seat theatre and a huge retail mall called Shoppes at Parisian, which is spread over three levels and offers the latest in fashion and couture in a setting reminiscent of the streets of Paris.
In front of the hotel stands a half-scale, authentic re-creation of the iconic Eiffel Tower, and the resort seems set to become an iconic landmark in itself, the design evoking Paris through the ages.With the addition of The Parisian Macao, Sands China’s property portfolio now offers nearly 13,000 hotel rooms and suites, joining sister Cotai resorts The Venetian Macao; The Plaza Macao, featuring the Four Seasons Hotel Macao; and Sands Cotai Central, housing hotels by St Regis, Conrad, Sheraton Grand and Holiday Inn (plus Sands Macao on the Macao peninsula).
Together they provide a variety of entertainment options featuring international superstars, duty-free shopping with more than 850 retailers offering a broad array of name brands, 150,000 sqm of meeting and exhibition space for Asia’s leading conferences and exhibitions, transportation offerings, and more than 140 dining options including bars, lounges and Michelin-starred restaurants.
“There’s nowhere else in Asia where you can host 14,000 people for events under one roof,” said Sheldon Adelson Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands. “MICE has played a significant part in Cotai’s development.” Adelson believes that two infrastructure projects will be catalysts to help grow the MICE industry further in the SAR: “The Zhuhai Bridge will give access to Hong Kong airport, and this will be a dramatic boost to Macao,” he said, also citing the Light Rail transport network that will connect Cotai and other parts of Macao by 2019.
Whilst still operating an extensive casino, The Parisian Macao’s focus on non-gaming activities and offerings is in line with the Macao government’s drive to change the SAR’s reputation as a gambling centre. “The Macao government wants gaming at no more than 9 per cent [of total hotel activity],” said Adelson. “We are the first concessionaire to have put a focus on non-gaming components… our proportion of gaming to non-gaming is 4.5 per cent.”
