Increasing Chinese tourist gamblers in Macao: crucial player characteristics to identify and exploit.

Casinos are today considered major tourist attractions and are a strategic component in the development of a tourism destination. Tourist gamblers are an important market segment providing a reliable source of revenue for casinos. It is necessary to understand the characteristics of these gamblers and to design services and products that cater for their needs. In this study a survey of 402 Chinese tourist gamblers indicated that they have distinctive characteristics, gambling motivations, behaviors and preferences that must be considered and catered to for depth of understanding and devising ways to attract, keep and increase these important customers. Management and marketing implications for local casino operators and destination marketers are drawn.