APE Recognizes Need for Innovation, Focuses on the Metaverse

Asia Pioneer Entertainment Holdings Limited (APE) has said that it will seek to diversify its product offering and turn to metaverse experiences as a way to attract more consumers and travelers. The company cited the significant drop in visitors to Macau and across Asia as the reason why new solutions will be necessary to engage with tourists and bolster the hospitality sector.

Inspiring Travelers to Join the Metaverse

The metaverse is a perfect opportunity for the travel and hospitality sectors to seek a way out of the economic doldrums brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Commenting on its ambitions, APE said that the metaverse is an opportunity for “physical, augmented, and virtual reality” to share a space.

The company is confident that resorts and other travel destinations can ultimately benefit from the introduction of metaverse solutions that would elevate the traveling experience and make businesses in the industry more resilient. APE has already secured a team of unnamed individuals who are well-versed in the metaverse experience and will be able to guide the company.

This is just one of the latest moves that involve the company’s ambition to break ground into new technologies. Previously, the company acquired Smart Vending Machine in 2021. APE further hopes to leverage both blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to further elevate hospitality options. The latest move has come with the approval of the board which is interested in further expanding into the metaverse sector.

“The Board considered that the proposed plan to tap into the metaverse and related business has good business prospects, and will broaden the Group’s source of revenue and maximize the return of the shareholders of the Company,” a company statement read, cited by Asgam which did the original reporting.

Experienced Gaming Giant to Tackle Hospitality Shortages

The company is cognizant of the change in consumer habits as well as the geopolitical challenges that the hospitality and gaming industry faces. While remaining the fifth-largest supplier of electronic gaming equipment in Macau – and the biggest electronic table games provider in the SAR – the company is also looking to continue to scale up its experience.

While the successful implementation of a metaverse project in APE’s future hospitality collaborations is still only on paper, there have been such plans pitched before.

Atari, a game developer that is also exploring blockchain and metaverse, as well as hospitality options, is keen to create a series of innovative hotels across the world in locations such as Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, and Denver in the United States alone.

The company is also hoping to leverage its technological legacy to create new opportunities for tech-savvy travelers. However, the company’s hospitality plans have been stalled.