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US$ 400m Crown Resort SL report tabled in Parliament
A report on the proposed US$ 400 million Crown Sri Lanka resort which would open the door to “international gaming” in the country, was tabled in Parliament. The Report details how it can be used to attract “high net patrons’ for gaming operations in Sri Lanka.
“Sri Lanka and its economy are likely to benefit from revenues and economic activities from international gaming, particularly, visitation from high net worth patrons that Crown would be able to attract and which Sri Lanka currently misses out on, given the nature of the existing gaming operations,” stated the Report tabled by DNA MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka said.
The Report which gives detailed images of the proposed location overlooking the Beira Lake, said the Crown resort would complement and greatly enhance the Metro Colombo Urban development Project (MCUDP) currently underway. The project plans to focus on both the mass markets and VIP customers from India, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and South East Asia.
“It would create further opportunities for tourism development in Sri Lanka. In addition, the proposed project aims to target VIP gaming customers with a luxury VIP service proposition,” the Report said.
Crown, which has a 33 per cent stake in Melco Crown Entertainment, which owns and operates City of Dreams, one of the leading integrated resorts in Macau, the world’s largest gaming market, said that Indian outbound tourism to gaming markets such as Macau should rightfully come to Sri Lanka, and the setting up of the integrated resort would target segments of these Indian tourists.
The growing preference of Indians for extended weekends abroad, with Sri Lanka being among the emerging destinations, as well as the devaluation of the Sri Lanka Rupee against the Indian Rupee since March 2012, has supported the increasing affordability of Sri Lanka as a destination for the Indian short haul outbound market.
The report shows a map of major Indian cities within easy travel radius of Sir Lanka including Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, all of which are within one to 3.5 hours travel radius from Sri Lanka.
It added that Crown is in detailed discussions with the Sri Lanka government and potential joint venture partners regarding this development of the integrated resort project in Colombo.
“A number of conditions remain to be met before the Crown Sri Lanka project could proceed. Those conditions include the agreement between the parties and receipt of relevant government approvals,” it said. The report added that Singapore provides a case study in how a country, which delivers iconic luxury hotel resorts with gaming as a component, can benefit immensely by attracting a much greater number of Chinese and Asian tourists.