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Macau has set out to be Asia's new gambling centre, but recently tourists have been coming slowly and expectations have fallen behind. Two new casinos, the Galaxy Macau and Melco Crown's Studio City, opened in October in an attempt to attract new visitors.

The former Portuguese colony, reached an income of 45 billion dollars in 2013, but since then revenue has declined by a third. Still , Asia's top gambling hub makes 7 times more money than Las Vegas.

One of the reasons for the decline of Macau's gambling industry is the slowing down of Chinese economy. Most of the island's customers are wealthy people from the Chinese mainland. Macau is the only place where Chinese citizens can gamble legally.

But this has led to widespread corruption throughout the island. Chinese authorities, who have been in control of the island since 1997, have been cracking down on illegal businesses and money laundering.

Although the number of visitors to the island has gone down, investment is still big. Recently new casinos have expanded their attractions in an attempt to make the island more family-friendly. The world's largest rooftop swimming pool and a gigantic roller coaster are two new attractions that have been added. Hotels are offering their rooms at lower prices too.

More Tourists from rising economies

Tourism trends are changing as wealthier people from rising economies are travelling abroad. While Europeans and Americans are not travelling as much anymore, Russians and Chinese are going on holidays more than ever before.

Tourism in developed countries is expected to rise by 2.2% in the next years, but the number of travellers from other countries will increase by 50%. By the year 2030 over a billion travellers are expected to come from these countries.

The new tourists represent a rising middle class in their countries. They want to see other places and experience other cultures. Some just go shopping or want to have fun somewhere else.

Russians, for example, have been locked up in their country during the Communist period for much of the 20th century. Most of them have only experienced trips to other Communist countries in Eastern Europe or to Black Sea resorts in their own country. Now they are flooding Europe and other continents in an attempt to catch up on what they have missed.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s mainly wealthy Russians travelled abroad, but now a growing middle class is experiencing tourism. However, they do not spend as much money as Westerners and tend to go to cheaper places. Mediterranean countries like Turkey and Greece are adapting to this trend and have been attracting Russians with special, cheaper offers.

In China, the middle classes are also spending more and more on travelling. China is the fastest growing country when it comes to spending money abroad. In 2012 Chinese travellers spent 100 billion dollars overseas, more than the previous top spenders Germany, Britain and the United States. Chinese tourists prefer shopping to cultural travel. While foreign goods in China are expensive they bring back items that cost a lot at home.

In South America, Brazil is the major money-spender in tourism. About 30% of all Brazilians who go on holidays travel to other countries.

While spending a lot abroad, not all of these countries are on the receiving end of tourism. Travelling to China has been popular among Europeans and Americans for some time, mainly because of the culture and the Asian way of living. In Brazil the upcoming football World Cup and the Olympic Games are expected to attract millions of foreign tourists to the country and bring in a lot of money. In contrast, Russia does not make very much money from tourism. One of the reasons is the bad infrastructure that dates back to the Communist period and lack of investment.

Niagara: A helicopter pilot’s perspective
“I originally came to Ontario for three years, and that was 20 years ago! I came to Toronto and loved the hustle and bustle—it’s such a cultural melting pot, no matter who you are or where you come from, you’re welcomed with open arms. Niagara is for the thrill seeker, especially through the window of a helicopter. It’s such a rush seeing the curvature of the Earth, and the natural wonder of the falls in different contexts; brilliant sun, wind, rainbows arching over the cascading water. I’ve been over the falls in the region of 45,000 times, showing all manner of people the sights—families, retirees, couples from all over the world. It’s always a thrill, for them and me!”