Flying High

There is so much to learn from Macau. Till the turn of the century, Macau was a Portuguese colony. This unassuming special administrative region of China is build mostly on reclaimed land. Despite its humble beginning, Macau has risen, flourished and made a place for itself on the map as the world’s gaming hub. Every year, thousands of tourists flock to Macau… to enjoy the region’s colossal resorts, magnificent casinos, delightful restaurants, throbbing discos and charming shopping centers. More tourists are now visiting Macau than they are Hong Kong, which has been a popular destination for tourists from across the globe for several years. Macau’s tourism market grew by almost 23% last year and by almost 18% in the first quarter of this year. According to official figures, 230,788 more tourists visited Macau than Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2008.

So, it is not surprising that private investors and venture capitalists have also flocked to Macau. Billions of dollars have been invested into resorts and casinos. What accompanies a thriving tourism industry is a growing travel sector. As Macau’s popularity as a tourist destination has grown, so has the region’s travel industry.

Viva Macau was founded in 2004 as Wow!Macau. This was the first Asian airline to combine a low cost model with long haul routes. The airlines is owned by prominent local entities and businesses in Macau as well as MKW Capital, an international venture capital firm with several equity investments across a varied portfolio of businesses in Macau. Wow!Macau was christened Viva Macau in 2005 and commenced flying in 2006, with 2 Boeing 767s and a plan to increase the number of aircraft to as many as 15 within 5 years.

Today, Viva Macau is not only the sole airline offering regular direct service from Macau to Tokyo (Japan), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Sydney (Australia), the carrier also has aggressive plans to expand the frequency of flights. Moreover, Viva Macau would be commencing service to and from Okinawa, a resort destination in Japan. From the time the airline began services to Indonesia (December 2006), Australia (August 2007) and Japan (December 2007), tourists arriving to Macau from these destinations have gone up by 71%, 290%, and 300%, respectively, according to figures from the Macau Government Tourism Office. Undoubtedly, there are great expectations from Viva Macau’s inauguration of flights to Okinawa.