SINGAPORE — Nearly three years after opening its doors, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) held its grand opening yesterday with a forecast of 17 million visitors next year, surpassing this year’s figure by one million.

But providing accommodation for the mass market will present a challenge, said Genting Group Chairman Lim Kok Thay during a press conference, ahead of last night’s ceremony officiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Asia will continue to be the target market of the integrated resort and Mr Lim said RWS will boost room capacity for the middle and higher-end mass market segment, market its non-gaming offerings overseas and continue improving its property.

Mr Lim said the Genting Group wants to build more hotels to cater to cost-conscious travellers, with Johor’s Iskandar Development Region a possible location.

The 1,500 hotel rooms in RWS cater to higher-end visitors and are running at about 90-per-cent occupancy, with spare rooms set aside for its casino high-rollers flying into town.

With airlines like Scoot flying in more people from places like China, “there is not sufficient room capacity to cater to what we call the higher end of the mass market”, Mr Lim said.

“Hopefully with the completion of more rooms for the mass market tour and travel, we should be able to do even better,” he said.

Last month, Tamerton, a subsidiary of Genting Singapore, lodged a record bid for a hotel site in Jurong East. RWS Chief Executive Tan Hee Teck said yesterday the site would see a four-star hotel, housing 450 to 500 rooms, being built in 24 to 28 months.

The Jurong East hotel, located between the Second Link to Malaysia and RWS, will serve as a “good catchment area” for tourists arriving from Malaysia, added Mr Tan.

RWS has opened its facilities in phases, with the latest Marine Life Park attracting 50,000 visitors since it opened a fortnight ago.

Two new attractions will open at the Universal Studios Singapore theme park in the next two-and-a-half years, said. The first, the Sesame Street Spaghetti Street Chase, will open in the next three months. The second, to be sited beside Shrek castle, is being designed.

Mr Lim said its non-gaming attractions would provide a “marketing edge” overseas, given how many foreign governments do not welcome direct marketing for gambling.

This would also help boost gaming revenue, he said.

Asked about the softening of the gaming business in recent quarters — RWS’ casino revenue in the third quarter fell by 27.8 per cent year-on-year to US$470.8 million (S$574.8 million) — Mr Lim said the IR’s “novelty effect, which we have been warning people about, is wearing off”.

But he said this applies more to the domestic market, and expects overseas gaming revenue to continue increasing, albeit at a slower pace.

Asked about expansion overseas, Mr Lim said that much depends on gaming legislation being put in place and that he is “more optimistic” about Japan. The country’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has been supportive of casino legislation, is expected to win the elections this month, and “we believe some legislation will come along in the next 12 to 18 months”, said Mr Tan.