Our globe-trotting mayor set to sing Gold Coast’s praises in Asia
MAYOR Tom Tate will travel to Asia in November on a partially selffunded trip to sell the city to cashedup investors and visit casinos in Macau.
The week-long trip will see Cr Tate, who will fund his international airfares, host a series of investment seminars in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Taipei to help attract big dollars to the region and promote some of the city’s companies.
The casino-spruiking mayor will also visit Macau to investigate how the Gold Coast’s proposed gaming venues could stand out from the 33 operating on the island.
He said Macau had four times the turnover of Las Vegas.
The mayor visited the US earlier this year and said it was important he understood how the Gold Coast could have casinos that appealed to Chinese gamblers.
‘‘The Chinese have Macau and Macau has a lot of big casinos. What we want to do is a more boutiquestyle development but we need to know what else we can do to lure them to the Gold Coast and how we can do it differently,’’ said Cr Tate, who last week met Premier Campbell Newman about securing more gambling licences.
‘‘We should be promoting our new casinos as well as our lifestyle and open air attractions and natural beauty, the things Macau doesn’t have,’’ he said.
Cr Tate will also connect with the region’s sister cities, Tainan and Taipei in Taiwan, and formalise and sign a new agreement with Zhuhai in China.
Riyu Li, the Chinese businessman behind the $1 billion Jewel development at Surfers Paradise, is based in Zhuhai.
‘‘I will be wearing my civic, advocacy and salesman hat when I am there,’’ said Cr Tate.
‘‘The main purpose is to promote investment opportunities here,’’ he said.
‘‘Zhuhai seems like a natural choice because Mr Li is there and he will be able to talk the city up. We have a local identity on the ground.’’
He said there was also the option for a Singapore stopover to visit the head office of the developer behind the $4.9 billion Wavebreak proposal.
Sembawang is based in Singapore and is looking to build a man-made island adjacent to Wavebreak Island and include a super resort, casino and cruise ship terminal.