Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN MAY 2020 44 JAPAN annual tax revenue of around JPY 50 billion and employ up to 20,000 people through construction and operations. The group has promised to work with local SMEs in procuring resources and says it can drive increased visitation from East Asian travelers – the lifeblood of Japan’s tourism industry – due to its well- established high-end membership base. “We fully grasp the preferences and consumption patterns of East Asian travelers and can provide them with appropriate products and services,” Suncity says. “Our subsidiary company ‘Sun Travel’ can also cooperate with surrounding areas to create unique, high-end tourism products focusing on Wakayama and promote them through our sales platform to drive regional development.” In the meantime, Suncity isn’t waiting around to learn its Wakayama fate. Last September the group purchased a 51% stake in MSRD Corporation Limited, a local firm whose principal asset is a 108,799 square-meter plot of land in Okinawa. Currently comprising fields, farmland and public roads, the land will eventually become Miyako Islands Resort Hotel, due to open in 2023 featuring 100 hotel rooms and 40 villas each with their own individual pools. Located nearby Japan’s Miyako Islands – famed for their sandy white beaches and coral reefs – the development is designed to complement Suncity’s Wakayama IR by “enhancing customer stickiness.” “We’re open to any potential opportunities to further develop our business in Japan,” Suncity explains, making it clear that Japan is now very much a key focus of the company’s long-term expansion endeavors.