Venetian Macau team to lead 'Vegas of Asia' transformation

With investment of over US$2billion, the company is planning one of the most ambitious convention projects ever seen in Asia. The development on the Cotai Strip in Macau will be centred on an integrated resort complex headed by a 976,500 sqm Venetian Macao Hotel Resort Casino. Convention and exhibition space will take up around 108,000 sqm. The signature 400-room hotel will be managed by Four Seasons. Other hotels in the strip will be Shangri-La Hotel, Macao, the Traders Hotel, Macao, an InterContinental and a Holiday Inn. Around 10,000 extra rooms will be added to Macua's inventory. Wolfram Diener, vicepresident of convention and exhibition of Venetian Macao said he was confident that the meetings and exhibition industries would recognise Macau's potential. "We will have some of the biggest meetings and trade show facilities anywhere in Asia. Just as importantly, we will have the hotels, the restaurants, the nightlife and all in an integrated resort environment. No one else has anything like this." Trade show organisers understood to be lining up for exhibitions are CMP, VNU, Reed, Adsale, and Messe Frankfurt. Richard Heller, president and general manager of the Sands Expo in Las Vegas said: "Twenty years ago, Las Vegas was seen purely as a gaming town. Now it is the leading convention city in the US. The same can be true of Macau, we believe our expertise and experience can help turn Macau into Asia's Vegas."