Heritage versus Gaming: Odds on winning a piece of the tourist pie.

Glenn McCartney Institute For Tourism Studies

Macao, SAR

and

Sanjay Nadkarni Institute For Tourism Studies

Macao, SAR Abstract With the liberalisation of the gaming industry, Macao, a former Portuguese enclave for over four centuries and now a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China, is on the threshold of a major transformation. Do centuries of accumulated culture and legacy stand threatened in the wake of these developments? Will a once laid back, relatively sequestered small town lifestyle with its unique blend of customs be swamped by an influx of outside influences brought in by expatriates and visitors alike? An uneasy status quo of gaming and cultural tourism that has prevailed thus far, with gambling revenues contributing circa 60% of Macao’s GDP, over 70% of its tourists and providing significant funding to cultural programmes and preservation could be unsettled. While the Macao Government are investing vast sums in the preservation and promotion of cultural tourism, there is the pending danger that it will be simply relegated to the backstage, with casino development taking the prime slot. Though the Macao government has over the years promoted Macao as a ‘city of culture’, the future reality of this message will ultimately lie with the attitudes of local residents, and particularly, its youth. This issue assumes further significance in light of the proposed listing pending with UNESCO to designate Macao a World Heritage City. In this paper, the authors highlight some of the more prominent issues emanating from this identity conundrum facing Macao. Key words: heritage preservation, culture, casino and tourism development, resident and youth perceptions. Introduction In 1557, the isthmus of Macao1, named after the Chinese sea goddess A-Má, came under the administration of the Portuguese, being given the first official permit to operate as such by the Chinese. On one of the southern most tips of China, Macao for the next three

1 Macao is the English translation, while Macau is the Portuguese version

hundred years became the main and most important trading post between the West and East, in particular China. It represented a strategic gateway, being at the mouth of the Pearl River, an important access point to the go-downs and warehouses in the region of Canton. During this time, Macao would have been a thriving melting pot of Eastern and Western nationalities and cultures. This wide variety of languages and values, architectural styles, cultural traditions, customs, even cuisine would have existed side by side and gradually influenced one another. Perhaps fortuitously, Macao developed into a unique pluralistic society, interchanged with influences from the orient and occident. One such custom and pastime in which there was a overlap and amiable agreement of cultural acceptance was that of gambling which became a favourite pastime for many, for foreigner and Chinese alike, although it was initially illegal (Pinho, 1991) yet very much tolerated by the local Portuguese authorities as being a part of everyday life and Chinese culture. Early reporting on gambling in Macao has been portrayed in a rather negative light, such as from the Franciscan friar, José de Jesus Maria, who was in Macao in the 1740’s and wrote of how the town was made up of gambling, murder, drunkenness, fighting, robbery, and a long list of other vices (Pinho, 1991), a sentiment similarly shared by other writers on Macao’s history in the 17th century:

‘Chinese of the lower orders aggravated the situation by pandering to the sailors, running brothels, drinking and gambling houses for them, soaking them in cheap potent Chinese liquors and robbing them (a favourite trick) when they passed out’. (Coates, 1966, pp.39)

The gambling industry was obviously having a negative effect on public order within the city, although this continued to take a backseat to the main task of trade between East and West. Macao’s gaming industry has metamorphosed through a matrix of illegal gambling houses, to legalisation, monopoly franchise, and recently liberalisation (Appendix A), which saw two major Las Vegas gaming consortia (The Venetian, under the local Galaxy Casino banner, and Wynn Resorts) win casino concessions in Macao (the other casino concession went to Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, SJM renamed from STDM, which simply ‘inherited’ the present eleven casinos). The liberalisation process was spurred by the similar motives of generating revenue for government coffers, and other fiscal benefits, as well as social stability and the wish to limit criminal activities from within the gaming industry (McCartney, 2003). However, Macao’s reliance on the gambling dollar is significant with gambling representing 60% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with tax from casino revenues generating 7.4 billion patacas2 in 2002 (Gaming Control Board, Macao SAR, 2003) showing Macao’s casinos (of which there are presently still eleven) to be one of the most lucrative casino industries internationally. However, while the economic argument is used to justify and introduce or expand casino development, as done in many gaming jurisdictions worldwide (Roehl, 1994; Smith and Hinch, 1996; Smeral, 1998), several social costs can emerge as a consequence of this development (Pizam, 1978) such as 2 1USD = 7.8 Patacas

increases in crime and prostitution, addiction to gambling and drug abuse, traffic jams, littering as well as in the case of Macao, the possibility of a negative impact on its already ‘fragile’ culture and heritage. With a population of 441,600 inhabitants and landmass of 26.8km2 (DSEC, 2003), tourist arrivals to Macao in 2002 topped over 11.5 million (MGTO, 2002a) and continue to increase in 2003. This is significant considering Macao’s small living area and has put added pressure on the preservation of its culture. Coupled with this is the introduction in the coming years of ‘Las Vegas’ themed casino properties from the Wynn and The Venetian gaming consortia with promises of creating Macao as Asia’s Las Vegas, a mega-gaming hub with casino strips, themed properties and entertainment complexes with the vision of a casino strip totalling potentially 58 casinos (Events, 2002) and a total investment from all concession winners of US$1.6 billion (a third of Macao’s GDP in 2002) (Ponto Final, 2003). As a result, a once laid back, relatively sequestered small town lifestyle with its unique blend of customs and heritage is progressively being exposed to ‘global’ cultures. This issue assumes further significance in light of the proposed listing pending with UNESCO to designate Macao a World Heritage City (Engelhart, 2002). In an attempt to protect Macao’s unique Sino-Portuguese architectural and cultural heritage, all the new mega-resorts comprising casinos, convention centres and hotels and other supporting infrastructure projects are to be built on Macao Peninsula’s Outer Harbour and on reclaimed land between the two off-short islands of Taipa and Coloane (Ponto Final, 2003), named Cotai, an abbreviated and combined form of the two island names. This new self-contained city will allow Macao to expand a further 6.2 square kilometres, and accommodate an estimated 150,000 residents (Macau Image, 2002). Amidst this substantial growth and infrastructure expansion, the preservation of Macao’s cultural heritage is spearheaded by the Cultural Institute of Macao. Initially set up as a public institution in 1982 aimed at implementing policies on culture and academic research related to Sino-Portuguese cultural interchange, and stimulating interest in Portuguese language and culture in Macao and the region, its status and responsibilities towards cultural and heritage preservation have evolved and increased to its final standing in 1994:

‘The Cultural Institute aims to maintain, preserve and renovate the local cultural, historical and architectural heritage, and to develop regulations to ensure that it remains available for the public to enjoy. The promotion of research to help the community understand Macao’s culture and heritage better is another of its goals’. (Macao Yearbook, 2002, pp.325)

The Cultural Institute with a budget of over US$12 million in 2002, has enacted a broad strategy from publications, the establishment and maintenance of libraries and archives, cultural and artistic events, arts and film festivals to the running and maintenance of the Macau Conservatory (for music, dance and drama), The Museum of Macau (constructed in the interior of one of Macao’s oldest and largest fortresses, Monte Fort) and various libraries.

However, the Cultural Institute is but one of a myriad of stakeholders with a vested interest in Macao’s future. Ultimately though, it will be the reaction or interaction of Macao’s local resident community, as well as Macao’s youth population towards upcoming casino development that will determine and shape Macao’s future legacy and the success of cultural and heritage preservation. This paper while discussing whether the cohabitation of two seemingly incompatible concepts of gambling and heritage will spawn a culture paradox, will also highlight the findings from two previous research projects in relation to cultural preservation; ‘Perceptions of Casino Impacts Among Macao Residents: A Study of the Liberalisation of the Casino Industry’ (McCartney & Vong, 2003) and ‘Assessment of Intercultural Awareness Among Macao’s Student Community’ (Nadkarni, 2003). Cultural Tourism applied to Macao The term cultural tourism contains several related elements, leading to how attractive the culture will be to the tourist. These have been highlighted by Hall (1997) showing three components of culture: Figure1: The three components of culture (Hall, 1997) cited in Hall (2002), pp.284

High culture Multiculturalism

Heritage - Art galleries - Museums - Historic sites

Performing arts - Theatre - Music - Dance - Events

Lifestyles - Gastronomy - Social environments - Folkways - Craft - Festivals

Mass culture - Shopping - Film - Entertainment - Sport - Electronic mass media - Vernacular architecture

Language Ethnicity/ Ethnic symbols - Ethnic festivals - Community celebrations - Religious events

Folk and popular culture

CULTURE Symbolic meaning system

Using the three ‘components of culture’, high culture, folk and popular culture and multiculturalism, which are again broken down into smaller components, culture can be packed into various tourism products. Through 450 years of historical exchange between Asian and Western cultures, the Cultural Institute and the Macao Government Tourist Office offer a year round extensive event list (MGTO, 2003a) promoting local

performing arts, lifestyles (showing the mix of Chinese, Macanese, Portuguese and other minority cultures’ cuisine, costume and festivals), languages (with Chinese and Portuguese as the official languages, although English is widely used in commerce and education – unfortunately the local dialect of Patwa has all but disappeared), religious events and ceremonies (Christian and Buddhist mostly) supported by a patchwork of old churches and temples throughout Macao and its’ islands, along with a large list and variety of museums (MGTO, 2003 b) and listed historical buildings. In fact Macao is often cited as having more churches than the Vatican as well as more gambling tables than Monte Carlo. However tourists to these cultural components will have varying motivations:

‘There are a number of aesthetic, intellectual, emotional, and psychological factors motivating tourists to seek out and enjoy cultural experiences…Visitors to art galleries are seeking to encounter beauty, authenticity, uniqueness, and exclusiveness. The individual visitor becomes involved in the often solemn contemplation of art works and the encounter creates a very personal aesthetic experience. In contrast, visitors to museums are seeking discovery, novelty, diversity, and knowledge….Heritage sites can also convey a sense of place and bring visitors an awareness of the historical context of an area. However, visitors to performing arts events are seeking a more emotional experience and an escape from the everyday world’. (Hall, 2002, pp.404)

As it is, over three quarters of all tourists to Macao come for the prime reason of gambling. Of those locations that are visited, mostly by tour groups, such as St. Paul’s ruins, Macao’s major icon, they are as ‘honey pots of visitor attraction’ (Freitag, 1994, Collins, 1999) which in itself can have a negative effect on the tourism environment and resident populations around these sites, as the visitors are not being spatially dissipated. There is a lack of research in visitor (local resident and tourist) participation and motivation in not just visiting heritage sites, galleries and shows, but also in measuring their cultural experience. While the Cultural Institute’s main objective is to ‘protect, maintain and revitalise Macau’s historic, architectural and cultural heritage and to draw up the guidelines ensuring their survival, growth and dissemination’ (ICM, 2003) the presence of culture is a promotional spin used by the Macao Government in the marketing of Macao: ‘For almost four and half centuries international travelers have been coming to Macao…for adventure and sanctuary…business and pleasure. Invariably, they have found far more than they expected in the tiny outpost that once flourished as the prime commercial and cultural crossroad between Europe and Asia’ (MGTO, 2002b, pp.1). However it is important that Macao’s cultural preservation and tourism policy be closely linked (particularly now in the face of such dramatic casino and infrastructure development), a sentiment shared by Helmy & Cooper (2002) in the preservation of archaeological heritage in Egypt. ‘There is a gap between the general tourist policy and the strategy for cultural heritage conservation. A sub-policy for the protection of the cultural and historic sites needs to be created to link the main tourist policy and the strategy for cultural heritage conservation in the field of tourism’ (pp.525).

While authenticity is one of the main motivations for tourists to visit foreign culture and heritage spots, in contrast, the casino industry in fact manufactures the experience that is transportable:

‘While mountain or coastal scenery may make an attractive backdrop for casinos, from a purely functional perspective it can be argued that a casino is a built facility that is not dependent on any specific natural or cultural resource. Once patrons are participating in the games of chance, the backdrop becomes largely irrelevant. Casinos in Las Vegas have consciously divorced themselves from their natural environment…Las Vegas is literally an oasis that has been created by developers in the desert’. (Smith and Hinch, 1996, pp.38)

In addition, the casino industry may borrow a ‘false’ or commercially manipulated historical image, as was the case of casino development in Colorado (Stokowski, 1999). With Macao, there is the ever more presence of danger that even where ‘historic centers survive, their values intact they often do so as oases surrounded by featureless and meaningless outlying areas serving more directly the needs of business, residents and industry’ (Stovel, 2002, pp.94). With the knowledge that Macao’s cultural and heritage backdrop is not an important feature for the gaming tourist, efforts must be made to wider the tourist segment profile, and to have Macao’s cultural and heritage attributes marketed in conjunction (and as an equal partner) with the casino industry to appeal to a broader audience. Gambling – an intrinsic part of Macao’s society In a recent study on cultural sustainability on the island of Cyprus (Scott, 2003), (which has become increasingly dependent on casinos since commercial gambling was established in 1975), that although Turkish Cypriots are banned from all forms of gambling inside or outside the casino, gambling was still widespread in the community. Before the development of large-scale commercial gambling, it was a non-monetary pastime allowing for social interaction, forming part of stories and local song:

‘Gambling, it seemed, was an underlying fact of life: persistent, relatively widespread, sometimes problematic, yet socially managed and accommodated. It was also evident that a shift had occurred with the opening of the casinos and the particular gambling opportunities they offered, exacerbating existing tensions and threatening established social and family strategies for managing gambling and its sometimes difficult consequences’. (ibid, pp.267)

A problem the author goes on to write (citing McMillan, 1996) is that little research has been done to the significance of ‘traditional’ gambling cultures which pre-date the introduction of commercial casino gambling, apart from wishing to cite as either a legal or illegal form, although this ‘traditional’ form of gambling fulfils diverse social functions, where the economic factor was of minor importance. Albeit, commercial gambling has been present in Macao for some time. However, participation rates are low

(Vong & McCartney, 2003) which may be due to being part of the social fabric of Macao’s culture and does not arouse any special interest in the population as yet, in contrast to people living in places where gambling is not allowed (ibid, 2003) or being legalised for the first time. With the liberalisation, this may have dramatic impacts on traditional gambling in Macao’s society, emphasising the significance of the socio-cultural context for an understanding of the evolving casino industry in Macao. Having had gambling since its outset, historical references to gambling houses, the initial casinos, those involved in the casino industry and events evolving around gambling, have all added to the its colourful and exciting past. Even Fantan3, which would have been a favourite gambling game 450 years ago in Macao, was still played in some casinos in the second monopoly franchise under STDM (although it is now no longer played). Another popular game played in Chinese society is that of Mahjong, which until very recently was also played in some of Macao’s casinos, but continues to be a favourite pastime by many (while small side bets are placed adding to the vigor of the game, a major factor behind the playing of Mahjong is in social interaction). By linking the history of gambling and traditional forms of gambling (such as Mahjong and Fantan) more into the cultural framework of Macao, can only assist further in putting heritage preservation on a equal par with that of future commercial casino gambling. Perceived impact of casino liberalisation by Macao residents on culture and heritage4 Most of the literature on casino impact and development explores the introduction of legalised casinos in the community (Long et al, 1996; Perdue et al, 1995; Stokowski, 1998). However, legalised gambling houses were first introduced into Macao in the 1850s, with the government already receiving revenue from a tax on gaming revenues. Applying the analogy put forth by Smith & Hinch (1996) that casino have nuclear hierarchy, spatial distribution, and spatial structure, as Macao’s casinos act as a primary draw for over three quarters of all visitors to Macao, they act as a primary nucleus. Had they not been present, the argument goes, the tourists would have gone elsewhere. Regarding spatial distribution, of four possible categories for the location of casinos (Eadington, 1995), most of Macao’s present casinos are in major urban centres , openly accessible to local and regional populations. A lot of Macao’s residents are in close proximity to casino properties, suggesting the possibility of stronger opinions and perceptions regarding impacts (Belisle and Hoy, 1980). With regards to spatial structure, three spatial rings are suggested, with the core being a nucleus (casino and gaming area), an inviolate belt (such as hotels and restaurants, adding protection to the nucleus), and a zone of closure (surrounding commercial areas). In Macao, however, these three concentric rings tend to ‘blur in distinction’, as the inviolate belt of hotels and restaurants, rather than offer a protection function, tends to be more a condition of the casinos’ 3 This popular ancient gambling game was easy to set-up requiring no more than a number of buttons, coins or stones being divided four times with a stick, and guessing the number. 4 Excerpts from (McCartney & Vong, 2003), under journal review.

existence. Similarly, some of Macao’s commercial enterprises indirectly benefit from the presence of the casinos. The less distinctive these rings or boundaries, the closer the community will come into contact with casinos and casino development, increasing the likelihood for greater impact. With a large percentage of Macao residents either directly or indirectly employed within tourism and, therefore, being more dependent economically on the industry, research has shown that these residents have a tendency to be more positive toward tourism (the opposite happens with those not employed in tourism) (Pizam, 1978). ‘As the perceived future of the community with gambling becomes more positive, resident support for gambling will increase. It is tautological to propose that resident support for gambling will increase with the individual’s level of perceived benefit derived from gambling’ (Perdue et al, 1995, p.4). With this in mind, a longitudinal study was conducted in 2003 by McCartney & Vong among a resident sample in Macao. Several impact factors were researched to include a comprehensive list of economic benefits and social costs and the residents asked if the presence of the new casino development would increase these benefits and social costs. Economic gains (such as employment, tourism spending, investment) received the strongest agreement. One factor, ‘preservation of local custom and culture’ while not showing a clear weighting to agree or disagree, did show a slight skew to agree (that the new casinos would help preserve local custom and culture). However, this research was conducted prior to the opening for the new casinos (with the first, The Sands, under The Venetian banner to open in early 2004), with the hope that it can serve as a benchmark for future longitudinal and comparison research. Macao has very definite natural boundaries to expansion. Because of Macao residents’ close proximity to the casinos, it is suggested that stronger opinions and perceptions of impacts will be felt (Belisle & Hoy, 1980). Carmichael et al (1998) conceptualised that residents would develop either positive or negative attitudes toward the casino developers (in this case SJM, Galaxy Casino, The Venetian and Wynn Resorts) base on both personal factors (such as employment opportunities within the tourism or casino industry) and the perceived impacts (social, economic, and environmental). Should the perceived social impacts start to increase significantly enough, one being the decline of local customs and culture, (i.e. are not at least equally being offset by the various economic benefits), following Carmicheal et al’s framework there can be a shift to negative attitudes toward the casino development.

A lack of perceived impacts in tourism research was reported by Mason and Cheyne (2000). ‘There are few studies on the perceived impacts of tourism either prior to any development or when it is not yet seen to be a significant economic area of activity for a region’ (pp.400). What is apparent is that the continued success of gaming tourism and the preservation of cultural tourism for Macao will also rest with residents’ perceptions being carefully monitored in the coming years, and the need for more impact research. A similar cautionary note was highlighted by Long (1996):

‘One piece of planning advice commonly heard from all constituencies that have experiences with gambling is to be vigilant. All jurisdictions report unanticipated problems, new pressures, the need for constant monitoring and similar concerns. To build toward long-term success it will be important to monitor a community’s ability to handle issues, to focus on the health and integrity of the gambling industry and the value of the experience to the state’s visitors, determine the effectiveness of service delivery to the communities, and monitor the impacts on other parts of the state’. (pp.352)

Heritage Management - collaboration in tourism planning Taking into consideration that heritage resources once removed are irreplaceable, a collaborated effort of all stakeholders, headed by the Macao Government is needed. At the moment, major tourism decisions in Macao are a top down approach, where decisions made at a localised level have little or no impact on government tourism policy formation. However, as mentioned by Bramwell & Lane (2000):

‘The importance of involving diverse stakeholders in tourism planning and management is receiving growing recognition. This has led to increasing attention being directed to the use of collaborative arrangements or partnership that bring together a range of interests in order to develop and sometimes also implement tourism policies…. Stakeholder collaboration has the potential to lead to dialogue, negotiation and the building of mutually acceptable proposals about how tourism should be developed’. (pp.1)

However within Macao, there are a myriad of shareholders with differing and vested interests in its tourism development. With the Macao Government and the casino developers taking obvious leadership and power positions, there is all the danger that such synergy creating bodies become just ‘window dressing’ with those with less power being excluded or having less influence on the decision making process. In responding to the influence of local residents, in Singapore on the issue of tourism and heritage conservation, public forums were invited by the Singapore Government, to consolidate residents feelings towards the commercialisation of conservation projects or tourism developments on one hand, and the need to preserve local heritage on the other (Teo & Huang, 1995). This assisted in the formation of a sound tourism development plan, reflecting the views and aspirations of local people. Later Teo & Huang writes of the danger that tourism development can destroy ‘local and regional features and replaces these with psuedo places which suggest nothing of the history, life, and culture of the people who live or work around them’ (pp.594) and in their citing of Relph (1976, pp.95) of the use of the term ‘Disneyfication’ to describe places that have become ‘absurd [and] synthetic…made up of a surrealistic combination of history, myth, reality and fantasy that have little relationship with the particular geographical setting’. Museumization is also mentioned as a form of Disneyfication of

museums, which construct idealized pasts, ‘a historic ambience for tourist enjoyment than for representing a true picture of the past’ (pp.594). With this in mind, there is the risk that culture and heritage solely become components of the tourism product or as a ‘commodity’ (Hewison, 1988, sited in Hall, 2002). Already, some are critical of cultural preservation in the face of tourism development:

‘In the coming two years, private investors are expected to sink billions of patacas (the Macau currency) into the SAR, according to official government reports. The investment will make a key ‘contribution ‘ to the change of the unique profile of the SAR, as well as the historic sites that blend occidental and oriental charm in a way not found in other cities. But many government projects have put the historic sites into a deteriorating situation….Macau is preparing some historic and natural sites to seek inclusion on the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage list. Funds allotted for protection works as well as for the application process far exceed those of other places, such as mainland China and Hong Kong, the other SAR. However, if Macau’s mode of preserving cultural heritage keeps following the manner in which local Jesuits are treating their founding father, it will be money down the drain’. (Chan, 2003)

Assessment of intercultural awareness among Macao’s youth The significance of the perceptions of Macao’s local resident community, especially the youth population, was emphasised in the introductory section of this paper. With reference to the three components of culture as propounded by Hall (1997), an audit study on one of these components, namely, multiculturalism, was conducted from the point of view of gauging the extent of cultural sensitivity and awareness prevailing in Macao. The recent spate of developments that Macao has been witnessing on the socio-economic horizons is expected to attract expatriate talent to the SAR. This in turn is bound to have an influence on the demographic undertones and consequently, the attitudes of the SAR’s residents vis-à-vis non-local cultures. From a socio-cultural perspective, the dynamism of any society is, inter alia, attributable to the extent to which external cultural influences and minority sub-cultures can be tolerated, accommodated, appreciated and assimilated by the dominant host culture. Such a perspective also has economic as well as political overtones. As Naisbitt and Adurdene (1997) have sought to underscore, all segments of a society are affected by the political, social, economic and cultural transformations. The key to sustainable economic growth, apart from tangible investment climate created by virtue of regulatory mechanisms on part of the Government is to ensure a healthy and welcoming environment from the cultural perspective for the expatriates and their dependents. Building such an environment is all the more relevant in this era of globalisation which has witnessed the rise of a new breed of ‘global professionals’ drawn from different social, national and cultural backgrounds.

Though being a predominantly Chinese society, Macao, as in the case of Hong Kong, by virtue of being a former protectorate of an erstwhile European metropolitan power, has, over the years, had a fair degree of international exposure, thereby attracting overseas migrants who have been integrated to a large extent into the mainstream of the local ethos, and yet, have managed to retain their distinct roots and identities. Macao has, in the past four centuries, played host to people from other Portuguese colonies such as Goa, Brazil, Cape Verde and Timor. These ethnic minorities have enriched the host society by virtue of their economic and cultural contributions and have kept alive their ‘Lusophonic’ identity. In the post colonial epoch which has coincided with the era of globalisation, to what extent do ethnic minorities feel assimilated in the host society is a possible reflection of the extent to which a society can be considered to be cosmopolitan. More specifically, in the context of Macao, it is imperative that the SAR metamorphose into a cosmopolitan entity, given the rapid pace of development spurred by the deregulation of the gaming sector and the attendant inflow of foreign capital, both, financial and human. Apart from the advantages that accrue towards attracting overseas expatriate talent to live and work in Macao, a cosmopolitan environment will also ensure a more ‘at home’ feeling for overseas tourists and contribute towards providing further diversity to the local heritage in the long term. Thus, the advantages that Macao can leverage by enhancing its cosmopolitan image are two fold: attracting overseas talent and tourists as well as evolving a more varied heritage. Towards this end, it is necessary to do the spadework in terms of determining Macao’s preparedness in being able to evolve into a cosmopolitan city whilst simultaneously being able to conserve its heritage. As economic growth, fuelled by the deregulation of the gaming sector inadvertently takes precedence over culture, conservation and heritage face the distinct possibility of being relegated to the backburner. Such a task can be accomplished from different perspectives that take into consideration social, cultural, anthropological and demographic factors. Though the opinions of all sections of the society are important, the segment of population that matters most is the younger generation who are the citizens of the future. Corsaro (1997) has highlighted that in social science research, seldom does this segment of society get recognised as an active social agent. As future citizens, their perceptions cannot and should not be overlooked. In this regard, Aitken (1998) emphasises that their role be given due recognition as an important dimension in social and cultural theory propounded by James & Prout (1992). It is the gist of these arguments that form the rationale behind focusing on the higher secondary student segment as the target population for this phase of the study. The principal aspects of culture on which the students’ attitude and awareness levels were gauged were language, cuisine and religion. In so far as language is concerned, expectedly, an overwhelming majority of the students cited Cantonese, which is the local dialect, as being their preferred language of communication, this being irrespective of the medium of instruction at school. In terms of working knowledge, Mandarin and English figure more prominently though there is a desire on part of the students to get familiarised with other languages such as Japanese and Korean. It is of interest to note that despite Portuguese being one of the two official languages of Macao (the other being

Chinese), there does not seem to be any overwhelming desire on part of the students to learn it. Perhaps, this has to do with the perceived utility of a language in a globalised context. Again, in their choice of cuisines, the students demonstrated a predisposition for Chinese food, which was followed by Japanese cuisine. Portuguese fare also figured prominently and given the influence that Portuguese kitchen has had on local cooking such an outcome is consistent with the situational context. Other cuisines such as Italian, Thai, Korean and Indian also find a reasonable level of mention. Students were also tested on their awareness of various faiths. Catholicism, Buddhism and Islam ranked top three in terms of awareness. As such, the Portuguese influence in the spread of Catholicism is evident vis-à-vis the response pattern. A significant number of students indicated their lack of awareness of Judaism, Hinduism and surprisingly, Taoism. The outcome of this study tentatively suggests that overall, the younger population of Macao does seem conscious of multicultural attributes, although the awareness seems largely confined to regions ‘closer to home’. This study has essentially been a modest preliminary step in probing into the prevailing extent of intercultural awareness among the youngsters in Macao. It needs to be emphasised at this juncture that the results are purely tentative, given the indicative nature of this study. It provides scope for further exploring the cultural angle from the perspective of sustainable conservation of Macao’s s heritage in the backdrop of economic development as also to develop a research plan for studying the other two dimensions of culture, namely high culture and folk and popular culture (Hall, 1997). The pursuit of research along the lines of the propounded framework will contribute towards evolving policies and practices to enhance the Macao youths’ worldview and enrich their cultural kaleidoscope with the objective of creating a vibrant cosmopolitan environment in Macao. This, it is hoped, will not just help keep alive the interest in Macao’s past legacy in the face of gaming induced commercialisation but also create a thriving cosmopolitan environment conducive and receptive to external cultural influences, the assimilation of which into the local milieu will ensure the evolving enrichment of Macao’s heritage to the benefit of posterity. Conclusions By providing a temporal snapshot of Macao’s present phase of development, this paper has brought to the fore an apparent joisting between two seemingly incompatible concepts of heritage and gaming. To what extent are these incompatibilities reconcilable and whether an uneasy cohabitation or even a symbiotic coexistence possible? These are the moot questions, the answers to which will determine the future of heritage conservation as well as the development of the casino industry in Macao. The world over, paucity of funds on account of empty government coffers is a reason often cited for neglect of heritage sites. Macao has been more fortunate in this regard, its public purse being consistently in the surplus, thanks to the revenues generated through

taxes imposed on gaming income. Though this paper has avoided speculation on how effectively the revenues thus generated have been deployed by various government agencies in the promotion of cultural tourism and conservation of heritage and culture, it is worth noting that the increasing prioritisation on part of the government authorities to transform Macao’s economic contours as evidenced by the recent liberalisation of the gaming sector call for the strengthening of coordination among the stakeholders in evolving effective strategies that will ensure the conservation of Macao’s varied past. That failing, an overemphasis on the development of the gaming sector would result in heritage and conservation issues being relegated to the backburner. Once the proverbial Rubicon is crossed, no amount of resources allocated by a cash-rich government will arrest the gradual or even rapid fading into oblivion of centuries of culture, thereby leading to an unfortunate paradox wherein the hand that fed was also the hand that killed. On the basis of the arguments presented in this paper, the authors recommended a balanced policy and decision making process, based on continually evolving dialogue between all the stakeholders, primarily, the government agencies responsible for the development of tourism and conserving Macao’s heritage. Towards this end, it is recommended that a nodal agency be established, that will be in a position to coordinate and conduct research relevant to meeting the (at times conflicting) objectives of the stakeholders. With appropriate policy mechanisms and regulatory guidelines that are evolved on the basis of sound academic research, it would be possible to derive synergies vis-à-vis a seemingly incompatible pair: heritage and gaming:

‘At best…culture can be hoped to be co-equal or partner of modern entertainment in attracting tourists. At worst, culture can be relegated to the backstage of economic development where the mainstay is the gambling industry. Therefore, the challenge for Macao SAR Government, especially, the Macao Cultural Institute is to muster all its efforts in promoting the culture heritage of the place as a partner of equal significance of the gambling industry in attracting tourists. UNESCO, to the mind of this paper writer will demand no less if the place wishes to be inscribed in the World Heritage List’. (Lamarca, 2002, pp.67)

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Appendix 1. Macao’s Casino Continuum

Illegal gaming houses and

1557

other forms of illegal gambling permitted by local authorities LEGALISATION Licensing of casino houses

1840

successfully raises gaming taxes although industry is still ‘gangster’ controlled MONOPOLY FRANCHISE Ownership of Tai Xing Company

1932

SECOND MONOPOLY FRANCHISE Ownership of Sociedade de

1962

Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (SDTM)

2001

LIBERALISATION

Regulatory framework passed in August, bidding begins in

November. Close off is December with 21 tenders received

Awarding of 3 casino concessions

2002

from 1st April 2002

2006

COMPETITION Each concession holder to implement contractual obligations

2022 MACAO ASIA’S LAS VEGAS?