Melco Casino Given Licence to Boost Cyprus Off-Peak Tourists
Cyprus’s reason for offering the casino resort licence to Melco is in a bid to try and drum up interest in the holiday resort out of season. With an influx of visitor during the summer months, the nation suffers a huge drop in revenue in the winter and many businesses find it difficult to cope.
Many countries with a strong tourist trade find it quiet off-peak but Cyprus is determined to remedy this by planning a luxurious casino. With Melco at the helm, the casino should be ready in two years time.
A New Ministry Set Up
In early 2019 Cyprus appointed a new ministry to oversee tourism in the country and tasked it with the job of raising the number of visitors out of season. The body decided that luxury integrated casino resort would attract a wave of visitors from overseas.
Melco Casino has been awarded the licence for the new resort and expects to be able to complete in approximately two years. The Hong Kong-based gambling giant Melco will be responsible for building the very first of its kind in the whole of Europe.
During the summer season, Cyrprus gets a flow of visitors particularly from regions such as Britain, Russia and Scandinavia but numbers drop off in the colder months. Melco believes that with the opening of this casino it will be able to change the fortunes for Cyprus off-season.
Melco has also been handed permission to run a chain of smaller, satellite casinos and since last year, it’s opened three in Ayia Napa, Nicosia and a third at Larnaca International Airport. As part of the grand plan, it will be opening a 4th satellite casino in Paphos.
Creating Jobs in the Casino Industry
When Melco opens its doors on the new large-scale casino, it’s estimated that a total of 2000 new jobs will be created. The company has said it’s keen to create “quality” jobs and to offer career advancement and education for all its staff.
Craig Ballantyne, the head of Melco in Cyprus, said that he believed building the casino would attract a further 300,000 visitors every year, establishing it firmly as a year-round destination and not just a resort for the summer months.
When it opens in 2021 it will have hundreds of villas and rooms, areas for meetings and exhibitions, multiple entertainment and dining facilities and a luxury casino.
