Accor Asia Pacific chairman and chief executive Michael Issenberg has urged the Government to ensure James Packer’s development at Barangaroo becomes more than just a casino as he expressed “amazement” at the current plans.
Speaking at the Tourism and Transport Forum’s Outlook conference in Sydney this morning, Issenberg described casinos as a “megatrend that cannot be ignored”.
He said Australia must take note of the “new wave” of casinos being developed in Asia, and in particular at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which offer a broad range of tourism infrastructure including shops, restaurants, entertainment and theme parks.
“In Australia we have a strong casino industry but a new wave is coming and Singapore has set the benchmark,” Issenberg said. “It is crucial that the next wave of casinos here in Australia add to the tourism infrastructure.
“With the new Packer casino at Barangaroo. I watched kind of with a little amazement, and I take my hat off to the Crown organisation, at how they managed to position themselves to fulfil that development.
"Certainly the design is spectacular but we need to make sure it’s a major facility for Sydney tourism.
"But it’s not until 2019 and it is the Government’s role to get a lot more than a casino."
He added that the Queensland Government appears to be on the “right track” with three planned casinos in terms of their wider tourism facilities.
Issenberg said two casinos in Singapore rake in more receipts than all of Las Vegas which demonstrated the importance of the market.
