TeamLab's "Super Nature [Japan's popular immersive art museum has opened inside Macau's Venetian.

Casino Night:As the only legal gambling venue in China, the gaming industry has long been Macau's biggest earner. However, new managers are trying to diversify the tourism industry for the future.Click the next webpage to explore how Macau's leaders are steering the city towards a more sustainable and diverse economic landscape.

Macau 

After being closed for almost three years due to a pandemic, Macau reopened in time for the Chinese New Year in 2023. However, tourists will find that old favorites are gone and new experiences are being offered.

Macau: After almost being closed for three years due to a pandemic, Macau reopened in time for the Chinese New Year in 2023. But tourists will find that old favorites are gone and new experiences are on offer.

Noemi Casanelli/CNN

Gin It Up

A Macau Airlines pilot and his wife, who are on furlough, used their downtime to launch Macau's first gin distillery, Owl Man.

Still Cooking: Chef Pedro Almeida cooks at Three Sardines, a Portuguese restaurant that opened during the pandemic and has been successful in serving locals.

Pasteis de nata: Portuguese-style egg tarts are one of Macau's most beloved snacks.

 [Senado Square is one of Macau's most well-known landmarks. This normally bustling area saw a decrease in foot traffic and many stores closed during the pandemic.

Dramatic changes

ZipCity, located in the Lisboeta casino complex, is Macau's first zipline experience and an attempt to diversify Macau's offerings to be more family-friendly.

TeamLab's Super Nature: [Japan's popular immersive art museum opens inside Macau's Venetian.

Casino Night: As the only place in China with legal gambling, the gaming industry has long been Macau's biggest earner. However, new managers are trying to diversify the tourism industry for the future.

Macau After being closed for almost three years due to a pandemic, Macau reopened in time for the Chinese New Year in 2023. However, visitors to Macau will find that some old favorites are gone and new experiences are being offered.

Gin It Up

An Air Macau pilot and his wife, who are on furlough, used their downtime to launch Macau's first gin distillery, Owl Man.

Based in Macau, which was dealing with the world's toughest response to a coronavirus pandemic, he had a lot of time on his hands.

Macaulay and his wife, Rebecca Fellini, began learning how to distill alcohol as a confinement hobby. By the end of the nearly three years that Macau was a relative fortress, they had grown their hobby into a full-fledged business, launching a gin brand called "Owl Man," a play on the Chinese pronunciation of "Ah Mahn," Macau's place name.

Macaulay is now back in the air with Macau Airlines, and Fellini manages the daily operations of the distillery.

Even though their business was born during the blockade, they, like many other businesses around Macau, are pinning their hopes on the resurgence of tourism.

'Everything starts to get better': after 3 years of cobid quarantine, China opens its gates

Unlucky for them.

Macau, an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong, is the only place in China where gambling is legal. Often referred to as the "Vegas of Asia," it was not uncommon in the pre-pandemic era for high-spending "whales" to be helicoptered in and out for an afternoon at the craps table.

As a result, Macau's main economy is its casinos and the hotels, spas, and upscale stores that support them.

Macau has a population of about 600,000 (Hong Kong has 7 million) but generates six times the revenue of Las Vegas every year.

Before the pandemic, 80% of Macau's government revenue came from databasebasketball.com. Large corporations like Wynn, the Venetian, and MGM have a large presence in Macau.

Cobit wreaked havoc on all of them; nearly three years of intermittent blockades and blocking of travel from the mainland and Hong Kong had a devastating effect on the city's main source of revenue.

But it was also a time for innovation.

Lisboa is one of Macau's most famous casinos.

Lisboa is one of Macau's most famous casinos. Noemi Casanelli/CNN

The government realized it couldn't focus all its efforts on gaming and mainland tourists. Gastronomy is one of their big pushes," Macauley explains.

'For us, being the only distillery in Macau, it's great. Hotels and casinos are encouraged to support local food and beverage companies. That has helped us get off to a strong start."

He is not the only entrepreneur who has used the downturn in tourism to rethink his business model.

Asai, who uses only his first name professionally, owns several Portuguese restaurants and cafes throughout the territory. Macau, a former Portuguese colony, is known for its traditional dishes such as egg tarts, African chicken, and bacalao (cod fritters).

But Asai wants tourists to know that Macau still has an active and vibrant Portuguese community, so he offers more than the usual popular menu items.

Big Ben and Beckham: Macau's newest resort, The Londoner, is a shrine to the British.

Egg custard tarts, known as pasteis de natas in Portuguese, are the most popular Macau souvenir, drawing long lines at stores like Lord Stow's and Margaret's.

Pasteis de Chaves is a small, trendy cafe that looks like it belongs in Brooklyn. They sell egg tarts, but the store's name comes from their signature beef-stuffed pastry, a savory complement to the sweet egg tarts.

Across the street, Three Sardines is a dimly lit, romantic spot that specializes in petiscos, the Portuguese equivalent of tapas, small plates such as fried octopus and grilled peppers.

The competition for restaurants in Portugal is fierce, but many of them are localized versions of Portuguese cuisine," says Mr. Pérez, who is also the owner of the restaurant. We're trying to offer a more traditional and unique experience. It's a niche, and it helped us survive the pandemic."

Pedro Almeida, chef at Three Sardines.

Chef Pedro Almeida of Three Sardines. Noemi Casanelli/CNN

Now that tourists are slowly returning to Macau, he is one of many local business owners who are looking outward for the first time in years.

Like Owlman, Asai's restaurant group has received government support as Macau's dining scene diversifies.

For example, he and head chef Pedro Almeida worked with the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) to produce a video explaining the origins of egg tarts and the differences between them in Macau and Portugal.

New and Noteworthy

When the first foreign tourists began returning to Macau in February 2023, it was clear that much had changed.

Many small restaurants closed during the blockade, and those that reopened struggled to keep staff after many workers left Macau for good.

However, new attractions are opening and the casino is trying to diversify its offerings and become more family-friendly.

In January 2023, the city's first outdoor zipline, ZipCity, opened at Taipa's Lisboeta casino complex. This was due to the flood of tourists from mainland China during the Chinese New Year. According to a company representative, ZipCity operated "at 90% capacity" during that vacation.

ZipCity's zipline is 338 meters (1,100 feet) long.

ZipCity's zipline is 338 meters (about 1,100 feet) long. Noemi Casanelli/CNN

Despite the pandemic, ongoing construction projects have been completed, albeit not always on schedule.

Team Lab, a popular Japanese immersive art experience, opened a Venetian location in June 2020, and The Londoner, a new British-themed resort complete with penthouse suites designed by David Beckham, opened in 2021.

London's most famous landmark, the Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral, is coming back to life with a VR experience that allows visitors to see what the church might have looked like at different times in history.

The city is also rolling out incentives to bring tourists back.

Those coming by ferry from Hong Kong will receive a buy one, get one free boarding ticket if they stay at least one night in a hotel.

Most businesses and vendors in Macau, including cab drivers, accept Hong Kong dollars, but few accept Macau Pataca in Hong Kong.

Macau's tourism bureau also announced programs for international travelers, including package travel deals.

Like a tart, I never change": the secret behind Macau's most famous dessert

On the ground, the activity is brimming with activity.

Weekend ferries from Hong Kong are selling out and popular areas such as Senado Square and Fort Gia (part of Macau's UNESCO-listed historic district) are packed with tourists.

This includes the casinos. On a recent mid-week visit, the tables at the MGM and Venetian casinos were packed with gamblers and onlookers.

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