Manila casinos are expected to benefit from the Philippines and South Korean governments agreeing to expand weekly air service between the two capital cities.
Aviation government officials from the two Asian countries last week signed a memorandum of understanding that will increase weekly seat capacity to 30,000 from 20,000 seats each way from Manila Ninoy Aquino International and Seoul Incheon International. The agreement expands passenger traffic to and from the capital metros, which are among the world’s most populated.
The Manila metro is home to approximately 13 million people, while Seoul has about 25.5 million residents.
Manila and Incheon are both commercial casino markets, though the casinos at Incheon International are reserved for foreigners only. Manila’s Entertainment City casinos — Okada, City of Dreams, Solaire, and Newport Resorts World — welcome both domestic and foreign guests.
The Philippines’ gaming industry continues to grow post-COVID-19. The Southeast Asia nation has benefited from pent-up demand that grew during the pandemic and China’s crackdown on junket groups that had kept Macau’s VIP high roller rooms busy for decades.
Those junkets, which had catered to mainland China’s elite, have refocused their operations to more favorable operating climates like the Philippines. Many of the travel organizers have also looked to other rich countries in Asia where gambling is outlawed or heavily restricted such as South Korea.
The Philippines Department of Tourism reports that South Korea has been the largest feeder country for foreign visitors to the archipelagic nation this year. The Philippines has reportedly welcomed nearly 793K Koreans from January through June, or 28% of the country’s total foreign visitation.
Source: Casino.org
