The statistics provided by the hoteliers suggest that they have observed the business down by up to 35 percent in the casino segment after the number of that segment continued to diminish starting from 2011. [break]
The major tourist segment for casino business is South Asia, and particularly Indian and Bangladeshi. However, the arrival from this segment is observing a low or even negative growth in last seven months.
Bharat Joshi, resident manager of Hotel Yak and Yeti said the room sales of the hotel was down by 35 percent in the casino segment. According to Joshi, the hotel had sold 2,281 nights to the tourists who came for the sole purpose of casino. “In this year only 1,116 rooms were occupied by this segment and we are estimating the total sales of 1,500 nights till the end of 2012,” he said.
Likewise, Amir K. Pradhananga sales and marketing director of the Everest Hotel said the business of the particular segment was down by more than 15 percent compared to same period last year. “Most of the guests of the casino come along with the family and are among the high-end tourists,”said he.
Casino operators along with tourism entrepreneurs opined that the decline in the business was not simply because of the frequent shutdown and management issues but also because of the increasing number of casinos in Goa and Sikkim.
The statistics is even worse if compared with that of 2010. According to Pradhananga, the business was down by over 25 percent.
Joshi said the hotel was losingaround Rs 3 million per month on average because of the decline. “The sales of food and beverage have also been hit in the similar manner,” added he.
Bod Bikram Pandey, director at Casino Shangri-La said that the recent incident of labor issues had spoilt the goodwill and casino tourism of the country. “The business is disappointing in recent months and business from Indian group who used to come in large number during summer was negligible,” said Pandey at Casino Shangri-La which faced a shutdown of nearly a month in the beginning of 2012. He further said that in order to retain the business, they have started targeting South East Asian segment. “Our new marketing strategy is focused on Malaysia and China,” he said the decline in business was not just because of the number but also because of low number of high rollers.
Pralahad Kunwar, General Manager of Hotel Radisson said although the natural flow was decreasing, casinos offering attractive package were still yielding good business. “No doubt, large number of potential guests are attracted to new casino destinations in India but effective management and competitive packages can definitely help retain the business,” said he.
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