Gaming, tourism boom spurs an influx of foreigners
A rising number of foreigners living in Macau, coupled with increasing foreign investment in the tourism and gaming sectors, has prompted some countries to appoint representatives to serve their citizens in the city.
Estimating that 1,000 US citizens now live in Macau, the United States consulate in Hong Kong has appointed a warden.
As the new warden, Reggie Martin, who is manager at the Westin Resort Macau, provides American citizens and travellers with information on visas, voting and security warnings.
'American companies like the Venetian, MGM and Wynn Resorts are going to build huge resorts. At the management level they will probably bring in Americans.'
Compared with the population of 450,000, the expatriate community in the former Portuguese enclave is still small.
In the first six months of this year, an average of 7,119 US nationals and 3,463 British nationals per month visited Macau - an insignificant percentage compared with the monthly average of 746,441 mainland visitors.
