zpk ijtr paper 14

To Gamble or Not? Perceptions of Macau Among Mainland Chinese and HongKong Visitors

ZHONGLU ZENG1, CATHERINE PRENTICE2* and BRIAN EDWARD KING3

1Macau Polytechnic Institute, Gaming Education & Research Centre, Macau2Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria Australia3Victoria University, Centre for Tourism and Services Research, Melbourne, Victoria Australia

ABSTRACT

Macau's casino sector has been expanding rapidly, particularly targeting mainland Chinese gamblers. The novelty and under‐researchednature of this market is a challenge for Macau's casino and destination marketers. This study explores the characteristics of the mainlandmarket and compares this with the second placed and more mature Hong Kong market. The profiling of visitors from Macau's main sourcemarkets including demographic, region of origin, trip behaviour and motivation characteristics provides insights into the future success ofthe destination. Adaption theory is used to explain the implications of differences between Gambling and Non‐Gambling visitors from thetwo source markets. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Received 01 January 2013; Revised 19 May 2013; Accepted 11 June 2013

key words Macau; casinos; adaptation theory; visitor profile; market segmentation; customer acquisition and retention

INTRODUCTION

The leadership of the Las Vegas gaming industry has beendescribed as evolving from ‘Maverick to Mafia to MBA’(Bernard et al., 2008).Widely regarded as Asia's contemporaryequivalent of Las Vegas, Macau has been transformed from amonopoly operated by the Sociedade de Turismo Diversoesde Macau to a more open market environment following thegranting of new licences to leading international casinooperators such as Las Vegas‐basedWynn and Sheldon Adelso.This evolution followed the return of sovereignty over Macauto the People's Republic of China in 1999. Since then, residentsfrom mainland China have progressively been grantedpermission to cross into Macau, including for purposes ofgambling (King and Tang, 2009). Changes to the regulatoryenvironment have facilitated an unleashing of the historicallyand apparently deeply rooted Chinese desire to gamble. Overthe past decade, Chinese visitors have come to dominateMacau's casinos and other tourism spots. According to theGaming Statistics (2011), Macau received more than 24million visitors in 2010, of whom, over half originated inmainland China, surpassing the once‐dominant Hong Kong.

Macau's gaming revenues have maintained their rapidgrown through progressive waves of global financial crisis,and in each year since 2006, income has surpassed that ofLas Vegas. Most gaming revenues are generated by mainlandvisitors, followed by Hong Kong residents. Massive casinocomplexes have been developed to accommodate the growthin demand, and over 35 casino complexes now occupy alandmass of less than 30 square kilometres, with others underconstruction. Despite the massive market potential from themainland, competition is intensifying from provision else-

where in the Asia–Pacific region, with increasing availabilityof appealing gambling destinations outside China. Forexample, Korea's various casinos are particularly accessibleto residents of northern China. For residents of the easternprovinces, the casinos in the Philippines and Korea are as easyto reach as Macau. Casinos located in jurisdictions, such asMalaysia, are also aggressively pursuing mainland Chinesegamblers. Macau's 35 casinos are vying fiercely for marketshare within this competitive environment.

If casino marketers are to respond effectively to thecompetitive environment, they are likely to need to combinecustomer acquisition and retention strategies. This approachinvolves targeting appropriate market segments withcarefully designed marketing strategies. Although mainlandChina is the primary target market for Macau's casinos, it ismassive in scale and geographically dispersed. Furthermore,it is a relatively new consumer market and there is littlehistory of gathering information about market profiling toguide and facilitate casino marketing activities. Gaining animproved understanding of the relevant market characteris-tics may help marketers undertake targeted segmentationand should in turn facilitate customer acquisition andretention. On the basis of the foregoing discussion, thecurrent study aims to explore the profile of the mainlandmarket using a well‐established market segmentationapproach, based on geographical, demographic, psycho-graphic and behavioural variables. To provide a context forthese characteristics, the researchers have also profiledvisitors from Hong Kong. In a more mature market, the latteris still Macau's second‐place market and was the dominantmarket prior to the granting of permission to mainlandvisitors. Such market intelligence should provide insightsinto competitive advantage and sustainability and shouldassist Macau's casino marketers to refine their target market-ing strategies.

*Correspondence to: C. Prentice, Swinburne University of Technology,Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.E‐mail: [email protected]

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

International Journal of Tourism Research, Int. J. Tourism Res., 16: 105–112 (2014)Published online 17 July 2012 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/jtr.1902

MARKET SEGMENTATION AND TARGETING

Most contemporary marketers acknowledge that they willnever have sufficient resources to attract all customers fromwithin a marketplace and cannot approach all customersidentically. Given that customers are numerous and scatteredand have diverse needs and purchasing practices, it is neitherprofitable nor realistic to target all segments. To design aneffective customer‐driven marketing strategy, marketers needto segment customers with similar needs, characteristics orbehaviours and, having evaluated their respective merits,and prospective outcomes, target one or more segments. Thisprocess can help concentrate the efforts of marketers onacquiring attractive segments and retaining profitable andloyal customers.

Commonly used segmentation variables that are prevalentwithin the literature are demographics, geographic origins,psychographic and behavioural patterns, although thepreferred approach will depend on the characteristics of the in-dustry and/or the individual organizations. Various approachesto market segmentation are commonplace within the casinosector. In the case of Las Vegas, the most frequently encoun-tered behavioural criteria include convention, tour and travel,retail and invited guests. Elsewhere in the USA, casinoexecutives use additional geographic variables such as modeof transport and travel distance, namely, bus – ‘line run’, bus– charter, ‘inner’ and ‘outer’market. Asia–Pacific casino exec-utives mainly undertake segmentation on the basis of theirrelationship with customers and their associated profitabilityand activity use patterns such as frequency of visitation,average bets and time spent per visit on gaming activities(seeWatson and Kale, 2003). Some researchers have proposedinvolvement profiles as a means of informing target marketingactivities (Park et al., 2002) and an emphasis on motivations(e.g. Klebanow, 2009), focusing on existing gambling behav-iours. The adoption of such approaches suggests that an appro-priate segmentation approach will depend on the marketsituation and on the size and location of the relevant casino.To date, most applications of these methods have been directedat more mature markets, to active users and to well‐establishedcasinos (see Hong and Jang, 2004). The characteristics of themainland Chinese market are less clear because systematicmarket research is relatively new and because the patternssurrounding the so‐called ‘high rollers’ are a closely guardedsecret, allegedly because of connections with money launder-ing and the high commissions paid to ‘junkets’ (middlemen).

The purpose of the present study is to identify potentialtarget markets for Macau's casinos by analysing the visitorprofile of Hong Kong and mainland China, with a focus ondemographics, travel motivations (purpose of visitingMacau) and trip behaviours. These variables have beenwidely used in hospitality and tourism research (Cha et al.,1995; Swarbrooke and Horner, 2006; Louvieris and Driver,2008). In the casino context, Lehto et al. (2004) have pro-vided insights into the behaviours of visitors who gambleby comparing casino vacationers with other types of resortvisitors. They found that, over the course of a trip, casinovacationers participate in few activities outside the facility.Compared with other resort visitors, they generally plan less,

are older and have lower disposable incomes. AlthoughMacau is known primarily as a gambling destination, themainland and Hong Kong markets consist of both seriousgamblers and leisure travellers who have wide‐ranging recre-ational interests. On the basis of this observation, the paperwill also investigate purposes other than gambling, whichprompt visitation to Macau.

METHOD

SampleThe research focuses on mainland and Hong Kong visitors,aged 18 or above, who have completed their trip in Macauand are returning home. The survey was conducted at variousexit points on the Macau border. The reason for choosingsuch departure locations was to avoid inclusion of prospec-tive respondents who had just arrived in Macau, as some ofthe survey questions asked respondents about their actualbehaviours and activities in Macau. Three departure borderswere targeted for Hong Kong visitors, namely, Macau OuterHarbour Ferry Terminal, Macau Taipa Temporary FerryTerminal and the Border Gate. Reports show that 97.7% ofHong Kong visitors travel to and from Macau through thesethree locations (SCS, 2011). Of these, 75.7% travelled bysea, of whom, 45.5% used the Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal,29.6% used the Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal, and 22.6%proceeded through the Border Gate. For mainland visitors,the sample was drawn up at Gongbei Gate of Zhuhai, theChina mainland city adjacent to Macau. Prospective partici-pants were crossing border inspection points into mainlandChina after travelling to Macau.

InstrumentsThis survey included three sections: travel motivation(primary purpose for visiting Macau), trip behaviour (whatvisitors do during their stay in Macau and how they do it)and demographic information. Specifically, the questionnaireasked respondents to provide involved information relatingto travel arrangements, their primary reasons for visitingMacau (travel motivations) and visit arrangements to under-stand the difference between package tour and FIT travellers,and the travel behaviours focusing on local attractions visitedand activities undertaken during their stay. Travel motivationwas measured using 10 items adapted from the Las VegasVisitor Profile (2010). Macau and Las Vegas share a numberof common features as gambling destinations. They bothfeature luxurious casino resorts, retail complexes and restau-rants. On this basis, the researchers determined it as appropriateto use similar criteria when seeking market insights. Therelevant items cover the following purposes of visit: (i) business;(ii) leisure or vacation; (iii) visiting friends/relatives; (iv)sightseeing; (v) gambling; (vi) shopping; (vii) enjoyingdelicacy; (viii) business; (ix) watching performances or shows;and (x) others.

Data collection procedureThis survey was undertaken over the course of a singlemonth. Prospective participants were intercepted randomly

106 Z. Zeng, C. Prentice and B. E. King

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res., 16: 105–112 (2014)

DOI: 10.1002/jtr

by researchers and assistants. Twenty research assistantsparticipated in this investigation and helped to distribute thequestionnaires at the above‐mentioned locations betweenMondays and Sundays during the specified period. Allassistants were provided with training prior to conductingthe survey. The interception method was used, which hasbeen a commonly used approach to profiling visitorinformation and can help to elicit immediate responses. Themethod has been extensively deployed in other visitorprofiling studies, including research conducted in Las Vegas,Atlantic City, San Diego and Australia. In the case of thepresent investigation, interviews lasted an average of six toeightminutes. On completion of the survey, participants werepresented with a small gift as a token of appreciation. A totalof 2999 valid responses were generated from Hong Kong vis-itors, and a further 1204 were gathered from mainland visitors.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Preliminary analyses were undertaken, and results indicate thatmost respondents did not participate in any gambling‐relatedactivity during their most recent visit. For Hong Kong visitors,only 27.6% gambled, whereas for mainland participants,47.2% reported that they had gambled in a Macau casino.Based on this finding, the researchers separated the mainlandand Hong Kong visitors into two groups: Mainland gamblingand non‐gambling visitors (MGVs and MNGVs) and HongKong gambling and non‐gambling visitors (HKGVs andHKNGVs). Further analyses were undertaken to identify thesimilarities and differences in the study variables betweenMGVs and MNGVS, HKGVs and HKNGVs, MGVs andHKGVs, and MNGVs and HKNGVs.

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Mainland gambling and non‐gambling visitorsIt was found that the demographic characteristics betweenMGVs and MNGVs were significantly different at p<0.001.Most MGVs were male subjects (57%), whereas MNGVs werepredominantly female subjects (66%). Most MGVs were over25 (71%) and married (75%). The equivalent proportions forMNGVs were 46% and 57% respectively. The results indicatethat a relatively higher number of MGVs occupied managementor professional positions and were self‐employed. MNGVsgenerally had higher education and income levels than theirMGV counterparts. The results indicate that most of theSouthern China respondents (including those from Guangdongand other areas adjacent to Macau) were MNGVs. A minoritywere NGVs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, in view of the proximityof Guangdong, most of the 568 MGVs (61%) originated fromother Chinese provinces. This finding indicates that a relativelylarge number of visitors from more distant provinces arecrossing the border to undertake gambling activities.

Hong Kong gambling and non‐gambling visitorsHong Kong visitor responses indicate that most HKGVswere married (60%) and male subjects (66%). There was

no major difference between the gender and marital statusof HKNGVs. Compared with visitors who engaged in gam-bling activities, non‐gambling visitors were more educatedand held management and professional positions. MostHKGVs were medium income earners.

Mainland gambling visitors and Hong Kong gamblingvisitorsResults show that MGVs and HKGVs share a lot in commonin their demographic characteristics. They were middle aged,male subjects and married. Most of these gambling visitorsdid not have a university degree and had only completedhigh school. Surprisingly, a high percentage of the twogroups were either self‐employed or held sales positions.

Mainland non‐gambling visitors and Hong Kong non‐gambling visitorsThere were some similar and different demographic charac-teristics across the two groups. The results indicate that mostof the two groups were single, middle‐aged female subjects.Most were highly educated and possessed university degreequalifications. However, more HKNGVs reported as havingmedium incomes and holding professional positions,whereas most MNGVs were low‐income earners, holdingclerical or secretarial positions. The relevant findings arepresented in Table1.

REASONS FOR VISITING MACAU

Mainland gambling and non‐gambling visitorsRespondents were asked to choose which of the 10 categoriesbest represented their main purpose of visit. The resultsoutlined in Table2 show significant differences between theMGV and MNGV responses. In both cases, the primary mo-tive for visiting Macau was vacation and leisure (52% MGVsversus 34% MNGVs), followed by shopping (32% MNGVsversus 14% MGVs) and sightseeing (10% MGVs versus 6%MNGVs). It is interesting that MGVs associate their travelmore strongly with ‘vacation and leisure’ (to a greater extentthan MNGVs) and that MNGVs are more focussed onshopping, possibly symptomatic of the high incidence ofcross‐border day‐tripping. Only 9% of MGVs nominatedgambling as their primary travel motivation. It would beinteresting to know whether those residing in nearby cities inGuangdong are the main participants in shopping‐related activ-ities. Globally cross‐border shopping is a common practicewhere different currencies and/or tax regimes lead to price dis-crepancies. In view of the strong cross‐border ties connectingfamilies, visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) may have beenexpected to be a major motive for travel among MNGVs. Inpractice, only a small proportion of respondents cited VFR astheir primary reason for travel.

Hong Kong gambling and non‐gambling visitorsThe results show that the two groups of Hong Kong residentshad significantly different primary reasons for visiting Macau.Among those who had undertaken gambling, most reportedgambling (59%) as their primary purpose of visiting followed

To Gamble or Not? Visit Perceptions of Macau 107


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by vacation and leisure (10%), enjoying Macau's delicacies(8%), sightseeing (7%), visiting friends and relatives (8%),and watching shows (5%) or shopping (2%). In contrast togambling visitors, most HKNGVs reported their primary rea-son for visiting Macau as visiting friends and relatives (19%)and enjoying delicacies (19%), followed by vacation andleisure (17%), sightseeing (15%), shopping (13%) and finally,watching shows (5%). Both groups reported that they werevery unlikely to shop in Macau. This is plausible since HongKong is known as a ‘shopping paradise’.

Mainland gambling visitors and Hong Kong gamblingvisitorsThe responses obtained from the two groups were markedlydifferent. Although all have participated in gambling, mostMGVs cited vacation and leisure as their main reason forvisiting, followed by shopping. Very few respondents

reported that they were visiting Macau for purposes of gam-bling. Most HKGVs visited Macau for gambling, followedby vacation and leisure. The smallest proportion reported thatthey had visited Macau for shopping.

Mainland non‐gambling visitors and Hong Kongnon‐gambling visitorsThe results indicate that a majority of both groups visitedMacau for purposes of vacation and leisure. However, mostMNGVs visited Macau for shopping, whereas moreHKNGVs were visiting friends and relatives. Very few HongKong visitors visited Macau for shopping. Surprisingly, onlya small percentage of all respondents were visiting Macau forsightseeing. The results are presented in Table2.

TRIP BEHAVIOURS

To understand trip behaviours, the following variables wereanalysed, and the groups were compared: frequency of visit,travel arrangements, visiting activities and length of stay.The results presented in Table3 indicate major differencesbetween respondents from Hong Kong and the mainland.

Mainland gambling and non‐gambling visitorsIn response to questioning about their frequency of visit,44% of MGV described this as their first visit to Macau,whereas the equivalent proportion of MNGVs was 37%.Most respondents (65% MGVs and 54% MNGVs) reportedthey had visited only once during the past 12 months. Thissuggests that, since many MGVs in particular are first timevisitors, there is potential for casino marketers to developstrategies for the acquisition and subsequent retention of cli-ents from the mainland. Most respondents were travellingwith friends and relatives, although a greater proportion of

Table 1. Mainland and Hong Kong visitors – demographic profiles

Category Variable MGVs % MNGVs % HKGVs % HKNGVs %

Gender Male 57 34 66 51Female 43 66 34 49

Age 25 or less 17 37 12 2426–45 57 49 63 5946 above 26 14 26 17

Marital status Married 75 57 35 47Single 22 40 60 51Other 4 3 5 2

Occupation Management 15 12 8 10Professional 27 20 18 24Sales 7 5 23 17Clerical 23 61 19 23Other 27 2 32 26

Education High school* 60 40 72 52College** 40 60 28 48

Income Low 73 85 4 5Medium 16 12 58 53High 11 3 22 22

Place of origin Guangdong 40 23

Notes: MGVs – mainland gambling visitors, MNGVs=mainland non‐gambling visitors, HKGVs=Hong Kong gambling visitors, HKNGVs=Hong Kong non‐gambling visitors.*Refers to high school or below.**Refers to college or above.

Table 2. Mainland and Hong Kong visitors – primary motivationsfor visiting Macau

CategoryMGVs%

MNGVs%

HKGVs%

HKNGVs%

Vacation/leisure 52 34 10 17Shopping 14 32 2 13Sightseeing 10 6 7 15Gambling 9 0 59 0VFR 8 13 6 19Shows 5 2 5 5Delicacies 4 2 8 19Business 3 8 1 3Other 15 4 2 6

Notes: MGVs – mainland gambling visitors, MNGVs=mainland non‐gam-bling visitors, HKGVs=Hong Kong gambling visitors, HKNGVs=HongKong non‐gambling visitors, VFR=visiting friends and relatives.



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MGVs were accompanied by their family (62% MGVs versus41% MNGVs). Overall, a larger proportion of MGVs wereparticipating in package tours, indicative of the highly orga-nized and structured format of gambling and casino‐focussedtravel. Only a small proportion of visitors from either respon-dent grouping were travelling alone. Of the free individualtravellers (FITs), 10% were MGVs, and 22% were MNGVs.Unsurprisingly, it was found that MGVs generally engage inmore sightseeing (62% MGVs versus 38% MNGVs) andexpress appreciation for local delicacies (72% MGVs versus51% MNGVs). A majority of both groups had shopped inMacau (88% MGVs versus 86% MNGVs). For the length ofstay in Macau, more than 90% of MGVs were staying forovernight or longer, whereas only 53% of MNGVs spent morethan a day at the destination. This finding indicates that a largerproportion of MNGVs than MGVs were day trippers. Thepresent investigation has not ascertained how much potentialexists to extend the average length of stay of MNGVs.

Hong Kong gambling and non‐gambling visitorsA very small proportion of either group of respondentsreported that they were first time visitors. A majority of bothgroups indicated they had visited Macau more than twiceduring the previous 12 months. Among those, 36% ofHKGVs and 38% of HKNGVs had visited on up to four oc-casions; about 28% of HKGVs and 30% of HKNGVs visitedmonthly; and 9% of HKGVs and only 3.9% of HKNGVsvisited weekly. Most of the respondents in both groups werefree individual travellers. More of the visitors engaging ingambling activities travelled alone (30% HKGVs versus16% HKNGVs). More non‐gambling visitors travelled withfamily (31% HKGVs versus 43.6% HKNGVs). Surprisingly,although Hong Kong visitors indicated they were least likelyto travel to Macau for purposes of shopping or enjoyingdelicacies, a majority of both groups had shopped (45% forHKGVs versus 60% for HKNGVs) and had enjoyed localdelicacies (58% for HKGVs versus 70% for HKNGVs).Despite the short distance between Hong Kong and Macau,

the majority of both groups stayed overnight in Macau(69% HKGVs versus 64% HKNGVs).

Mainland gambling visitors and Hong Kong gamblingvisitorsCompared with Hong Kong visitors who engaged in gambling,more MGVs were visiting Macau for the first time (65%MGVsversus 17% HKGVs). However, more HKGVs travelled alone(30% HKGVs versus 10% MGVs), whereas more MGVs vis-ited Macau with family (62% MGVs versus 31% HKGVs),and more MGVs stayed overnight (90% MGVs versus 70%HKGVs). For activities undertaken in Macau, more MGVsenjoyed delicacies (72% MGVs versus 58% HKGVs) andshopped (88% MGVs versus 456% HKGVs). About 60% ofthe mainland respondents who were gambling visitors went toMacau for sightseeing; as few as 5% of HKGVs did so.

Mainland non‐gambling visitors and Hong Kong non‐gambling visitorsFor non‐gambling visitors, the results indicate that moreMNGVs were first‐time visitors (54% MNGVs versus 21%HKNGVs). However, more MNGVs travelled alone (31%MNGVs versus 16% HKNGVs). Fairly comparable percent-ages of these respondents travelled with family (42% MNGVsversus 36% HKNGVs). More MNGVs made day trips and didnot stay overnight (53% MNGVs versus 36% HKNGVs). Forlocal activities, more MNGVs shopped (86% MNGVs versus60% HKNGVs) and went sightseeing (38% MNGVs versus13% HKNGVs), whereas more Hong Kong visitors enjoyedlocal delicacies (70% HKNGVs versus 51% MNGVs).

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONAL FAC-TORS AND GAMBLING

Further analysis was undertaken to examine whether per-sonal factors influence gambling activities. Logistic optimalscaling regression analyses were conducted, with gambling

Table 3. Mainland and Hong Kong visitors – trip behaviours

Category Variable MGVs % MNGVs % HKGVs % HKNGVs %

Frequency of visit (FV) First timers 44 37 17 21Repeat visitors 56 63 83 79

FV in past year Once 65 54 27 26Two or more 35 46 73 74

Tour package Package tour 32 9 5 4FIT 10 70 69 79Other 58 21 26 17

Travel companion Spouse* 37 22 12 12Family** 25 20 12 24

Length of stay Tourist*** 90 53 69 64Day trippers 10 47 31 36

Delicacies Enjoyed 72 51 58 70Shopping Shopped 88 86 45 60Sightseeing Visited sights 62 38 32 30

Notes: MGVs – mainland gambling visitors, MNGVs=mainland non‐gambling visitors, HKGVs=Hong Kong gambling visitors, HKNGVs=Hong Kong non‐gambling visitors.*means with spouse only.**means travelling with family.***means that the trip involved an overnight stay.



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visitors=1 and non‐gambling visitors=0. This technique issuitable for analysing data consisting of qualitative or cate-gorical variables, which describe the units (objects, subjects)in a limited number of categories. The results in Table4reveal that factors significantly influencing gamblingbehaviours are as follows: gender, education, occupationand place of origin. Specifically, the more active gamblerswere male subjects, less educated, self‐employed and livingin non‐border regions (i.e. they were not residents ofGuangdong). Most visitors from Guangdong did not gamble.

CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION

This study has explored and compared the characteristics ofmainland Chinese and Hong Kong visitors to Macau on thebasis of demographics, geographic provenance, travelmotivations and trip behaviours. The investigation providesinsights into Macau's primary target markets and shouldserve as a foundation for the conduct of casino marketsegmentation and for developing appropriate marketingstrategies directed at the growing mainland market and themore mature Hong Kong market. In particular, this studyhas explored the apparent divide between mainland andHong Kong visitors. The findings have shown that about halfof the mainland visitors engage in casino gambling, and theother half do not, whereas only about a quarter of Hong Kongvisitors participate in gambling. On this basis, the researchersproceeded to analyse gambling and non‐gambling visitorsseparately and compared them on the basis of a numberof variables.

From a demographic perspective, MGVs are generallyself‐employed married, male, non‐Guangdong residentsearning reasonable incomes. MNGVs are generally bettereducated and higher earners. Similar results were generatedfor HKGVs and HKNGVs. MGVs and HKGVs exhibitsimilar demographic characteristics. This suggests that indesigning appropriate strategies for customer acquisitionand retention, casino marketers should examine gamblers'personal information and use demographic information tosegment potential customers. In the case of non‐gamblingvisitors, Hong Kong respondents are higher income earnersholding professional positions. This is unsurprising since

income levels prevailing in Hong Kong are higher than thoseon the mainland.

Although around half of the mainland respondents reportedthat they undertook gambling activities during their visit toMacau, only 9% cited gambling as their primary purpose ofvisit. This finding raises a question for the relevant authorities:given that Macau is known as Asia's Las Vegas, should it bepositioned exclusively as a gambling destination or as a placeof entertainment catering to diverse visitors interested in bothgambling and non‐gambling activities? Macau's resemblanceto Las Vegas has arisen because of gambling, but this has notyet translated into offering the type of Las Vegas style facilitiesthat suit families, visitors and holidaymakers. Although thisresult was consistent with what was reported in the Las VegasVisitor Profile (2010), it is important to consider the prohibi-tion on gambling withinmainland China when interpreting thisfinding. Respondents may be cautious about revealing theirtrue motives because of concerns about how information pro-vided in response to surveys may be used. This is an ongoingchallenge for the conduct of research into the gambling‐relatedactivities of Chinese consumers.

Both MGVs and MNGVs cited leisure and vacation astheir primary motivations for visiting Macau, although alarger proportion of MNGVs were visiting for shoppingpurposes. This indicates that vacationers and shoppers mayconstitute two distinct mainland Chinese markets, withMGVs more likely to visit for leisure, vacation and shoppingpurposes and less likely for sightseeing. For MNGVs,shopping is the primary focus followed by vacationing andsightseeing. A number of shopping‐related factors appear todrive mainland visitation to Macau. The first relates to pricedifferentials prevalent within the luxury product category. Inmainland China, tariffs imposed on imported goods, such asbrand watches, handbags, clothes, wines and some electronicproducts, typically incorporate a mark‐up of around 45% onthe prices prevailing within Macau and Hong Kong ChinaTariffs (2010). Second, mainland Chinese consumers havelong expressed their dissatisfaction with the quality of locallyavailable products. Third, Macau offers a greater varietyof imports.

In contrast to the primary purposes of visit among mainlandChinese visitors, most HKGVs visit to gamble, whereas forHKNGVs, the primary purpose is to visit friends and relativesand to enjoy delicacies. Hong Kong visitors are least likely totravel for shopping, reflective of the fact that Macau has notbeen perceived as a shopping paradise by Hong Kong resi-dents. When comparing the gambling activities of Hong Kongand mainland visitors, the results indicate that both groups areinterested in vacationing and leisure inMacau. However, moreMGVs visit Macau for shopping, whereas more HKGVs visitfor gambling. For non‐gambling visitors, more MNGVs visitMacau mainly for shopping, whereas more HKNGVs travelto visit friends and relatives and enjoy delicacies. In relationto their trip behaviours, most mainland Chinese gambling vis-itors are first‐timers. They travel toMacau with family and stayovernight, whereas non‐gambling visitors tend to travel aloneand make day trips. In contrast to these mainland visitors,HKGVs tend to travel alone, whereas HKNGVs prefer totravel with family and friends. It is worth noting that, although

Table 4. Predicted gambling behaviours – optimal scalingregression analyses

Coefficients

BetaStandarderror F Significance

Sex 0.15 0.04 13.806 0.00Age 0.06 0.08 0.547 0.57Education 0.28 0.04 42.127 0.00Marriage 0.01 0.03 0.28 0.59Employmentstatus

0.01 0.03 0.188 0.82

Occupation 0.19 0.04 28.789 0.00Monthly income −0.07 0.05 1.774 0.17Origin of place 0.17 0.03 26.171 0.00



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very few Hong Kong visitors reported shopping as theirprimary reason for visiting, most respondents did engage inshopping as well as enjoying local delicacies. These visitorsare, however, less likely to participate in sightseeing, comparedwith their mainland counterparts.

In conclusion, although visitors from Hong Kong andmainland China share similar demographic characteristics, theirprimary reasons for visitingMacau and some of their trip behav-iours differ substantially. This finding suggests that marketersshould treat the two markets differently and design marketingstrategies in specific ways that cater to the two distinct markets.On the other hand, although the primary purpose of visit for thetwo major markets differs substantially, most do participate insimilar activities: vacationing and leisure, enjoying local delica-cies and shopping. Recently, the CEO ofMGM commented thatsince gambling destinations, such as Las Vegas and Macau, donot possess attractive historical sites and other tourist spots, theyshould at least have facilities catering to vacationers andshoppers. This has profound implications for casino and destina-tion marketers since tourism attractions should be established,which offer the potential to diversify the visitor experiencebeyond gambling.

The results obtained from the logistic regression indicatethat place of origin is a significant influence on involvementin gambling within Macau. In particular, residents fromplaces bordering Macau, such as Guangdong and HongKong, are less likely to participate in gambling – only 27%of visitors from Hong Kong, and 41% from Guangdong havegambled in a Macau casino, whereas 61% from otherprovinces of China have done so. This finding has implica-tion for applying the so‐called ‘adaptation effect’ to marketsegmentation and customer acquisition strategies. Adaptationtheory indicates that when one is exposed to gambling for thefirst time, out of novelty, he or she is highly likely to partic-ipate. However, the novelty rarely lasts, and involvement ingambling progressively declines. Hong Kong visitors startedgambling in Macau in the 1960s. Before the mainlandChinese were permitted to visit Macau, Hong Kong visitorshad been the dominant market. For residents of mainlandChina, those originating from Guangdong were the first tobe granted permission to visit Macau on individual schemes,without having to participate in packaged tours organized bytravel agents. Because of Macau's geographical proximityand relative ease of entry, they visited frequently during thenovelty phase. Through this period, Macau was the onlylegally permissible location for gambling. It is evident thatthe novelty value for Guangdong and Hong Kong residentsis now fading, although it remains intact for residents ofother Chinese provinces. The present findings suggest thata high proportion of visitors from the more remote areas werefirst timers, particularly in the case of MGVs. Compared withvisitors from Hong Kong and Guangdong, these visitors maybe more likely to participate in gambling for reasons ofnovelty. The application of adaptation theory has beenwidely discussed in problem gambling research and hasmerit in the present context (see LaPlante and Shaffer,2007). This finding has implications for the relevantliterature by expanding adaptation effect into marketingintelligence, as well as for casino marketers who should

account for such effects when developing customer acquisi-tion and retention strategies.

IMPLICATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURERESEARCH

A few implications can be drawn from the findings of the cur-rent study. The apparent ratio of gambling and non‐gamblingvisitors indicates that gamblers are not the primary market forMacau. Since more visitors travel to Macau for purposes suchas leisure and shopping and for sightseeing (in the case ofmainland visitors), casinos and local tourism authorities shouldtake account of this when developing tourism and casino facil-ities. The different travel motivations of mainland and HongKong visitors suggest that marketing strategies generally andcustomer acquisition and retention in particular should bedesigned around these differences. Since most mainlandvisitors are first‐timers, marketers targeting this market shouldfocus on customer acquisition strategies, whereas for HongKong where residents travel more frequently, retention strate-gies are more appropriate. In summary, the research findingsshould be useful for casino marketers, when developing newapproaches to market segmentation and designing marketingstrategies targeted at particular segments. For Macau's tourismdestination authorities, the results should assist decision mak-ing about positioning and tourism development. Some findingscan be incorporated into the analysis and development ofMacau's longer term strategic planning with a view to sustain-ing tourism and casino‐related activities into the future.

The limitations of this study should be acknowledged. First,this investigation did not consider visitors departing fromMacau airport. The exclusion of this group lessens the extentto which the research findings can be generalized. Second,the study variables were limited because of the determinationof the researchers to minimize the time that respondents spentcompleting the survey. Third, the research did not capture the‘whales’ – large scale gamblers from mainland China whoaccount for a substantial proportion of gambling revenues. Asurvey of the type conducted here is not an effective meansof investigating the characteristics or intentions of this market.However, they will remain a critical consideration in futurestrategic directions for casinos and for destination authorities.Further research should address these issues. Further studiesare particularly warranted since the present investigation hasbeen exploratory in nature. For instance, research could beundertaken to compare the visitor profiles of Macau and LasVegas since both are major gaming destinations and Macauis positioned as Asia's Las Vegas. Furthermore, future studiescould provide deeper insights into the relationship betweenthe adaptation effect and casino marketing.

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