Glittering sands

With a replica Eiffel Tower in front of its gate, The Parisian Macao will feature 3,000 rooms, a retail mall, diverse food and beverage options and entertainment. Like The Venetian Macao, the integrated resort will make guests feel like they are in Paris with its decor and design.

"To make sure the hotel stays thematically in the French style, we just went to France to look at the trends, such as what people are buying and how they dress," Tracy says.

"Our customers are out there learning about what's best in the marketplace, and they bring those expectations with them when they come to Macao. Like the guests I ran into in London and Paris, they want the best, such as good hotels and entertainment."

According to him, the main target customers are the rising middleclass in China, who are most eager and the most likely to visit Macao.

"We're constantly reinvesting money in our products to make sure we don't become obsolete in the marketplace. It's partially product, but more importantly, it's the human part of it, which gives you the ability to transport people from their everyday lives to something really special," he says.

The company invests much money in training and academic growth, with cooperative programs with local universities and technical training schools. It offered 150,000 hours of training last year.

Tracy rates Macao's hospitality industry pretty highly from a global perspective because tens of billions of dollars have been invested in Macao's attractive hotels over the last decade. With the development of the industry, he believes Macao's global competitive level is very good and getting much better.

"As the hospitality industry continues to grow and the product offering improves, the visibility of Macao as an international destination will be greater, and it's already happening," he says.