SANDS CHINA EYES INDIA

In a bid to build relations and engage in business with the Indian travel trade, Sands Cotai Macao brought a preview of its facilities to India recently with a product seminar in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi. The seminar showcased the integrated resort offering of Sands Cotai Macao.

Brendon Elliott, Vice President of Sales & Resort Marketing, Venetian Macau Limited, a subsidiary of Sands China Ltd, said, “We are still an emerging destination in India and support from the travel trade is very important for us. We receive around 1, 65,000 Indians per year to the Venetian Macao alone. We now need to promote the other properties along with the Venetian.”

Elliott believes that the great thing about the Indian market is that people are very aspirational. “We are projecting a significant growth in quarter four with the re-introduction of Air India into Hong Kong in August. The increase in air services from Cathay and Dragon Air and the introduction of double- daily flights by Thai Airways via Bangkok into Macao.”

Apart from Sands Cotai Central, Sands China also has the Plaza Macao and the Venetian in Cotai. Elliott further added that the breadth of Sheraton, Conrad and Holiday Inn combined is really creating a formidable destination for large-scale incentive and corporate groups.

Currently till the 21st of December this year Sands China is offering 50 per cent off to the trade partners at the Venetian Macao, Conrad and also the Holiday Inn Macao to discover and explore the Venetian Macao. Specifically for MICE groups from 1 September 2012, they have launched a new campaign for meeting groups. “We are quite a rewarding organisation. The incentive will include 5 US dollars to every one room night they have booked attached to a maximum of 5000 US dollars per booking,” he added.

Their main strategy now is to continue with this growth in all their properties and to position the Sands Cotai Central as the ultimate meetings destination in Asia.