Sands China and the Guangdong-Macau Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park Development (GMTCM) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop Macao and Hengqin into a joint hub for health-related tourism, the casino operator said via a statement.
The partnership, formalised on Friday, would unite the signatories’ strengths in tourism, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) events and healthcare to boost Macao’s life sciences sector and enhance its tourism offerings.
With an emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), health is one of four emerging industries under the SAR government’s “1+4” economic diversification strategy, which sees the new industries buttressing the central pillar of tourism and gambling.
Grant Chum, CEO and executive director of Sands China said that the company was the first of Macao’s six gaming operators to sign an MOU with GMTCM, which is located in Hengqin.
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Chum said he hoped to help position Macao as a player in the emerging global health tourism industry, which he described as having “significant growth potential and a vast market scale.”
Sands China’s statement said potential projects could include health-themed MICE events, along with the introduction of new big health tourism facilities and products at Sands China’s resorts in Macao and at the GMTCM Park in Hengqin.
As part of their current 10-year contracts with the government, each casino operator is required to support the city’s economic diversification through investing heavily in non-gambling ventures like wellness tourism, the arts, niche sporting events and neighbourhood revitalisation schemes.
The GMTCM Park, launched in 2011, has already attracted 235 enterprises, including 89 from Macao, across sectors such as TCM, cosmetics and medical devices.
