Crimea is both a problem and a golden opportunity. The problem is self-evident: A population more sympathetic to ties with Russia than the West, and an inviting target for Russia’s imperial ambitions. The opportunity is that it remains one of the world’s foremost undeveloped tourist destinations. The question is whether "the problem" can be solved by taking advantage of "the opportunity."
Let me offer an unconventional suggestion – casinos. Not the sort catering to celebrities or the super-rich, or whose ambiance hints of a back-alley ambush if one "wins too much." Instead, consider those mega casino resorts associated with Las Vegas.
I appreciate that such a suggestion will be met with skepticism, but bear with me. Surely Crimea would benefit from development of its tourist potential, but a hotel here or there will do little to tie the region politically and economically to Ukraine. So consider instead the Venetian Resort complex in Macao China, owned by the Sands Las Vegas Corporation. Construction here entails an initial investment of $2.4 billion, and is but a first step in Sheldon Adelson’s (CEO of Sands Corp.) plan to invest some $12 billion by 2010.
Ukraine can only dream of an infusion of $12 billion of foreign capital for any reason, but the potential is even greater. First, the Venetian is not a one time thing. There is Las Vegas’s MGM Corp.’s $1.25 billion Macao casino along with a similar undertaking by another Vegas entrepreneur, Steve Wynn. Nor does the money spent on casino/resort development end there. Over $26 billion of comparable construction is underway in Las Vegas itself, including the $8.4 billion City Center, but not including other developments awaiting approval, such as Harrod’s $4 billion proposal, several megashopping plazas and innumerable highrise apartment complexes.
Investments of this magnitude – all private money — transform economies and political interests. Can one imagine the powersthatbe in Crimea, for example, dabbling in international or domestic political intrigues if such actions were likely to disrupt equivalent injections of hard cash into their economy?
Of course, all manner of unsavory images arise when one mentions gambling. And surely there is more than a touch of Vasiliy Aksyonov’s “Island of Crimea” to be found in Vegas – garish lights, casinos fronted by makebelieve volcanoes and pirate ships, nightclubs of every description, the noise of countless slot machines, and souvenir shops that cater to every indiscriminate taste. But consider how Las Vegas – an otherwise remote barren desert 250 miles from Los Angeles — became a gambling and vacation Mecca. The answer is: It learned what Walt Disney taught it! Disney, when laying plans for Disneyland over 50 years ago, understood that great profit lay in building a resort targeting middle America and families, rather than the affluent or rich. But doing so required a safe, clean environment with attractions for all age categories. Thus, what Vegas came to understand was that great profits could be earned not by catering to celebrities and oligarchs who, if they gambled at all, could do so in more exotic places. Instead, the “big” money lay in attracting those same people whose annual vacation might include a trip to Disneyland. Gambling Vegasstyle may have begun with America’s mafia leading the way, but the corporate boardrooms of today’s casinos are occupied by bankers, financiers and stockbrokers. With its success now measured by the rise and fall of shares publicly traded on Wall Street, the market Vegas targets is young couples, international business conventions, middleaged families, retired couples, and anyone and everyone else. Appealing to this diverse market requires an environment free from crime, casinos run without corruption, entertainment for all ages, first rate restaurants at affordable prices, and a general ambience that makes even the most budget strapped guest feel as if he or she were an oligarch.
When visiting Vegas, people are assured of casinos free from prostitutes, hotel accommodations that mimic any four or even fivestar European establishment, restaurants to fit every budget, attractions for all age groups, and scrupulously honest gambling regulated by the state. And there is also, of course, the guarantee that, in the unlikely event you hit the jackpot, you’ll encounter only a handshake from the casino manager, a check in the amount of your winnings, and a form on which to pay your taxes.
Facts like these led the powers that be in Beijing to invite Vegas developers into Macao. Appreciating that those developers had a near monopoly on knowing how to build, own, and operate megacasino resorts, Beijing understood also that there was more money to be made (by the state and even those who already operated casinos) by simply taxing the revenues of honestly run businesses. It was also understood that vacationers do more than drop money into slot machines. They eat, take taxis, buy souvenirs, hire babysitters, shop for clothes, and so on, thereby invigorating nearly every sector of an economy. Perhaps, as a signal of the transforming nature of such businesses, China took note of the fact that Vegas’s McCarran Airport is the sixth busiest in the world, handling more flights per day than Paris, Frankfurt or London’s Heathrow, and that the city is home to 19 of the world’s 25 largest hotels.
And therein is Crimea’s opportunity. If one can imagine billions in development money pouring in with no ties to mafia or obscure investors, but instead by corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange — followed by countless subsidiary and locally owned businesses setting up shop to service tourists — then perhaps one can imagine a Crimea more concerned with ensuring a safe and crimefree international attraction as opposed to debates over official languages or loyalties to Kyiv versus Moscow. Rather than worry about who owns what of the Black Sea fleet, attention might turn to establishing docking space for private yachts. And rather than worry about visits by a politician intent on inciting the population with populist rhetoric, the concern would be whether airport facilities were adequate to handle the flights from Riyadh, Berlin and Ankara. The benefits, moreover, would not be limited to Crimea, but would spill over into the rest of Ukraine, facilitating the full politicaleconomic development and integration of the country.
If one asks whether there is room for yet a third global casino/resort destination, the answer seems to be "yes." Macao serves Asia’s increasingly affluent population, while Vegas’s constituency is worldwide, but focuses on North America. That leaves Europe, Russia, Turkey and the Middle East. Of course, questions of feasibility can only be answered by those who might make the requisite investments, and playing a big part in their decision would be the guarantees various governments and governmental authorities in Ukraine and Crimea could offer as to the security of investments. But even that fact holds benefits; namely in the incentives it creates to do whatever it takes to make Ukraine an attractive place in which to engage in legitimate business.
Source: http://kyivpost.com
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