Venetian ferry service ready in November

Stephen Weaver, Las Vegas Sands’ president for Asia, has confirmed that the Venetian will start operating its own fleet of 10 high-speed ferries between Hong Kong and Macau in November.

“Each ship will have more than 400 seats, so we will instantly double the existing ferry capacity (run by Shun Tak),” Weaver said, adding that the ferries will have their own berths at the Hong Kong ferry terminal in Central, and will run to a newly opened ferry terminal in Taipa, next to the international airport.

Weaver would not be drawn on plans for marketing the service, including the free giveaway of tickets, saying it was too early. “But judging by our own plans, and the current difficulties of getting a ticket on the existing service, I wouldn’t be surprised if most passengers are our own guests and customers (for the Venetian’s hotel and exhibitions),” he added.

According to Weaver, the Venetian’s service will be a “significant improvement” over the existing service, dispensing with most of the booking and payment methods currently offered by Shun Tak. “It will be all electronic,” he said. “Smart cards will replace all those paper cards and stickers, plus online bookings will offer a seamless transit package from Hong Kong to our properties in Macau.”

The boats are coming from an affiliated company in Australia, Weaver’s home country. “Steve is the guy for this,” said Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. “He loves boats because he loves to fish, so I told him to go fishing for customers.”