Industry experts are saying that Macau’s transport infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the territory’s rapid rise to become the world’s largest gambling hub.
They say that Macau’s authorities face challenges to put transport systems in place to support further growth, especially in light of planned added capacity by gambling operators.
Macau’s average population density is one of the highest globally at 19,409 per square kilometre. The total population is around 607,000 living on a land area of 31.5 square kilometres, leaving a density 2.6 times greater than Singapore and three times that of Hong Kong.
Visitor numbers were close to 30 million in 2014, with 80 per cent from mainland China. Growth in arrivals in 2014 was around eight per cent year-on-year. But the outlook is for more growth in the coming years.
The rapid development and rise of the gaming industry in Macau has brought both benefits and challenges, says Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macau Government Tourist Office.
“It always brings questions in terms of how sustainable it can be and to make that sustainable, I think a lot of work has to be done both internally and also externally.”
