Internal marketing: An antidote for Macau's labor shortage

Gaming scholars the world over are in consensus about Macau's bright future as a gaming Mecca. The phenomenal growth in gaming facilities over the last three years has created an acute labor shortage in this Special Administrative Region of China. Moreover, around twenty additional gaming and hotel projects have been committed so far, all slated for completion in the next five years. Expansion on such massive scale will further intensify competition among employers to recruit and retain employees, particularly if the provincial government maintains its current restrictions on importing labor into the region. One, and arguably the only way to hire and retain manpower in the dynamic gaming market of Macau, is practicing internal marketing. This paper reviews the gaming business environment in Macau and proceeds to suggest ten internal marketing tools and techniques that casino establishments can use to recruit and retain service employees in a tight labor market.