'Las Vegas of Asia': Macau's glitz finds favor with Korean tourists

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'Las Vegas of Asia': Macau's glitz finds favor with Korean tourists

Published: 22 Mar. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 22 Mar. 2025, 11:41

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Tourists take photos outside the Grand Lisboa casino on Dec. 13, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]

MACAU — Although nicknamed the “Las Vegas of Asia” for its lavish casinos and dazzling nightlife, Macau is no longer simply known as a gambling mecca. In the post-pandemic era, the Chinese special administrative region has emerged as an appealing tourist site to those seeking an upscale travel experience, and Koreans sit toward top of that list.

Last year recorded 492,200 Korean outbound tourists to Macau, according to Statista. It’s a 140.6 percent increase from 2023, when there were 204,600 arrivals from Korea, making the country the fifth largest international tourist market following Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The night view of the Cotai Strip in Macau, home to a plethora of multibillion dollar casino resorts [JOONGANG ILBO]

Visitors shop at the Grand Canal shop inside the Venetian Macao hotel which is operated by Sands China during Lunar New Year in Macau, China, January 24, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The numbers are a miracle when compared to 2021, when there were only 20 Korean outbound tourists that stepped foot in Macau the entire year due to travel restrictions.

Finding Koreans at the casinos in Macau was like finding a needle in a haystack when the Korea JoongAng Daily visited last month. Industry officials agree that they’re not visiting to try their luck, it’s the luxury hotels, gastronomy and entertainment that’s what attracting them. Convenience proved to be a plus factor: Macau is only a four-hour flight from Incheon International Airport and as small as the size of a single district of Seoul.

“Macau has been seeing a lot of Korean tourists that come in family units to enjoy their stay at the five-star hotels,” said Alice Park, public relations officer at the Macao Government Tourism Office’s (MGTO) Korean branch. “In Macau hotels, the guests are treated like royalty — the services tend to be on another level than in Korea.”

The City of Dreams integrated casino resort in Macau [MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT]

The Morpheus hotel in Macau [MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT]

The “big six” gaming concessionaires — Galaxy Entertainment Group, MGM China Holdings, Sands China, Wynn Macau, Melco Resorts and Entertainment and SJM Holdings — own a plethora of multibillion dollar casino resorts at the Cotai Strip in Macau.

Hotels like the Venetian Macao, featuring an indoor lifelike replica of the canals in Venice and offering gondola rides, or the Londoner Macao, taking after the architecture in the U.K. capital, make it seem like you’re exploring different theme parks within one neighborhood.

Melco stressed in a media roundtable in Korea last October that Korean tourists are a top priority, adding that it would target high-income families and luxury travelers through a slew of programs and attractions.

The Londoner Macao hotel in Macau [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Macau’s local cuisine was also recognized in 2017 by Unesco, earning it the nickname, the “City of Gastronomy,” attributing the success to Macau’s four-century-long history under Portugal.

“As a result, the city has become a diverse environment, combining eastern and western culture and home of the first ‘fusion food’ — the Macanese cuisine, now designated as Macau’s intangible heritage by the local government,” the Unesco website reads.

Five fine dining restaurants within Melco’s properties were recently given eight Michelin stars in total, some of them maintaining the Michelin status for consecutive years: the Cantonese restaurant Jade Dragon with three stars, French restaurant Alain Ducasse with two stars and Cantonese restaurants Pearl Dragon and Ying and Japanese restaurant Sushi Kinetsu with one star each.

Double-boiled pear soup with Chinese tonic herbs and sea coconut, served at the three-star Michelin restaurant Jade Dragon in Macau [MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT]

Dim sum platter served at the three-star Michelin restaurant Jade Dragon in Macau [MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT]

Mediterranean gamberoni, delicate gelee and gold caviar served at the two-star Michelin restaurant Alain Ducasse in Macau [MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT]

Macau boasts a vibrant street food culture as well. It is home to the annual Macau Food Festival, which takes place every November for roughly three weeks. The large-scale festival, featuring over 140 vendors serving both local and international food in its previous edition, was introduced on Korean television through the KBS variety show “Stars’ Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant” (2019-).

In an episode that aired last month, actors Ryu Soo-young and Jung Hae-in were shown visiting the 24th edition of the festival last year, promoting a bungeoppang (fish-shaped pastry) booth.

The show previously popularized dalgona (melted Korean sugar candy) coffee, a recipe that originates in Macau, during the pandemic.

Egg tarts from Lord Stow’s Bakery in Macau [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Milk tea from Sei Kee Cafe in Macau [SHIN MIN-HEE]

During the Korea JoongAng Daily’s visit, Koreans were noticeably bustling around Lord Stow’s Bakery for egg tarts or snacking on milk tea and sandwiches from Sei Kee Café. Many were seen purchasing beef jerky from food stands as well.

The entertainment scene in Macau is expected to attract more tourists, as “House of Dancing Water,” Asia’s largest aquatic show, teased its return in May, set to take place at the City of Dreams resort. It ceased production in 2020 due to the pandemic after a decade-long run that was met by an estimated 6 million theatergoers from all over the world, of which Koreans accounted for a significant portion.

Melco’s chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho said in a press conference that he anticipates the show to “establish Macau as the city of performing arts.”

Other resorts are also going all in with distinctive spectacles, such as the “Macau 2049” production, directed by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, at the MGM Theatre and the 24-karat “Tree of Prosperity” installation at Wynn Macau.

A scene from the aquatic show "House of Dancing Water" [MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT]

A slew of K-pop acts have held concerts as part of world tours at the Galaxy Arena inside the Galaxy Macau resort, which can seat up to 16,000 people, such as Blackpink, (G)I-DLE, Enhypen, Tomorrow X Together and Stray Kids.

The pre-pandemic tourist numbers from Korea may not have fully recovered, but the continuing increase offers a ray of hope that it soon will. Earlier this month, the MGTO launched a microsite for Koreans on the A to Zs on Macau travel, offering information regarding the region’s history, major tourist spots, restaurants and transportation.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]