Marina Bay Sands Initiates Hiring Surge as Tourism Picks Up
Following several long years of stagnation, the Singaporean gambling sector, specifically Marina Bay Sands, is launching a mass hiring initiative to meet the renewed demand. The crown jewel of the local casino industry has set a target to hire over 2,000 new staff – and they are due to hold a job fair on-location in an attempt to lure in the mass of talent required. Ambitious hiring projects like this have not been a regular fixture in the stalled casino sector since prior to COVID, but spurred on by an increase in tourism numbers the sector is realizing current staffing levels will be unable to meet the anticipated demand.
Tourism numbers across Singapore have undergone a major revival in recent months. Almost returning to pre COVID-19 levels, casino bosses across the region are anticipating a revival in revenues and potentially a post COVID-19 boom across the industry. ©allanlau2000/Pixabay
The 2-day recruitment event will be the first chance potential employees will have to learn more about the company, the specific roles that are being hired for, and the staff they will potentially work alongside at Marina Bay Sands. The event will be the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that the casino has attempted to hire such a mass of people.
Scheduled to take place on the last 2 days of May, the goal is to fill the over 2,000 job vacancies as quickly as possible – but most importantly, with the right talent and experience. Every hiring department from Marina Bay Sands will have their own booths at the event to help direct the interested parties to the teams most relevant for their needs.
Marina Bay Sands has indicated that 15 departments within its business will be open to hiring, including security, casino operations, and management. It’s obvious to understand why Marina Bay Sands needs to recruit heavily, as they already signalled a major $1 billion refurbishment project. This will add a lot more suites to the current hotel residence, and drastically expand the suite of services on offer. Stimulating this hiring drive is the abandonment of COVID-19 restrictions at the Singapore border, which up until the end of April had prevented tourists from entering the country.
Singapore’s Casino Industry Undergoing Epic Revival
The amendments to the inbound traveler rules for Singapore is already showing an immediate impact on the country’s gambling industry. For the year, the number of tourists entering Singapore is up over 450% when compared against data from the lockdown period. Total footfall for the period shot up to more than 540K, as appose to the 330K at the same time in the previous year. The sharp increase in tourism across the industry means bigger volumes of cash flowing through the casinos.
According to the Singapore Minister for Transport – S Iswaran – the country will be back at pre-COVID flight levels before the end of the year. The country is expecting its inbound flight numbers to dramatically increase. As the airports begin to add more flights to their schedule, travelers from around the world will be able to book cheaper trips into the city, thus adding to the surge in tourism numbers. With the majority of casino guests arriving in Singapore from overseas, all of this adds to the momentum being gained by the sector in the recent weeks.
Another beneficiary of the resurgence of the Singaporean gambling industry is Genting, the betting & casino company shares a duopoly with Marina Bay Sands in the country to offer gaming services, and is using the momentum in growth right now to tap into new markets. With such a resurgence in tourism there is a tremendous opportunity to target the casual gambler again. Up until the end of the pandemic, the types of customer profile making it to the casino were more or less professional gamblers only.
Diversification of the customer base is the immediate concern and priority of Genting, and they have made it abundantly clear that pursuing this goal is there main mission going forward. Despite this pivot, retaining current customers and recruiting new premium level clients will be essential to maintain the financial health of the company. With the market in a renewed sense of urgency there is a distinct and unique advantage at the door of the country’s largest casinos.
During the recent annual general meeting being held by Genting’s management team the company acknowledged that there was considerable work to be done. The company CEO Tan Hee Teck remains confident in the ability of Genting to hit pre-COVID-19 levels, but admitted there were several fundamental problems to overcome first.
