SOUTH EAST ASIA 22
MALAYSIA
Malaysia ops outperform as new attractions draw visitors Genting Malaysia says it plans to further leverage new facilities at its Resorts World Genting property to boost growth and is seeking opportunities in regional markets.
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n a recent presentation to analysts, Malaysia’s only casino op erator highlighted the positive impact from the Genting Integrated Tourism Plan (GITP), which it launched in 2013. The RM10.4 billion ($2.5 billion), 10-year overhaul of its resort in the Genting Highlands is now close to completion with the new attractions helping to boost visitation by 21 percent in the first six months of this year. As of end June, the company had invested
Asia Gaming Briefings | November 2018
RM7 billion in the project, rolling out new hotel and casino facilities, a cable car ride to the hilltop resort and a premium outlet shopping mall. Still to come are the attractions seen as likely to be the main crowd pullers, which are a theme park developed with 20th Century Fox and an indoor theme park, as well as more luxury hotels. The 20th Century Fox attraction has been delayed and is now expected to open in the first half of 2019, with the indoor park expected towards the end of this year.
The resort attracted 12.8 million visitors in the first half, with about 73 percent of the total being daytrippers to the property. Average occupancy across its 10,500 hotel rooms stood at 96 percent, up from 93 percent in the same period last year, with the average rate rising 15 percent to RM105. The group, which has operations in the U.S., Bahamas, the U.K. and Egypt, still gets about 67 percent of revenue and 83 percent of EBITDA from its Malaysian operations,
