Sands China forms partnership to boost health tourism in Hengqin

Sands China Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Guangdong-Macau Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park Development Co. Ltd. (GMTCM) to jointly develop Macau and Hengqin into a “leading hub for health-related tourism.”

Formalized late last week, the partnership aims to leverage the strengths of both regions in tourism, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE).

Grant Chum, CEO and executive director of Sands China, said, “Given that the global health tourism industry holds significant growth potential and a vast market scale, we hope to connect our tourism sector with Big Health by utilizing resources within integrated resorts, organizing conferences and exhibitions, and introducing health tourism products to make Macau a player in this emerging industry.”

The collaboration aligns with the Macao SAR government’s “1+4” economic diversification strategy, which focuses on developing four emerging industries – including health – to support the city’s traditional pillars of tourism and gambling.

Under their current 10-year contracts with the government, casino operators like Sands China are required to invest heavily in non-gaming sectors such as wellness tourism, arts, entertainment, sports, and community revitalization projects.

The GMTCM Park, established in 2011 in Hengqin’s Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone, has attracted 235 enterprises, including 89 from Macau, spanning TCM, cosmetics, medical devices, and biomedicine. The park features research facilities, pharmaceutical factories, and incubation bases meeting Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.

Potential projects under the MoU include health-themed MICE events, new health tourism products, and further facilities at Sands China’s resorts and GMTCM Park.

“This collaboration marks the official launch of in-depth cooperation between the two parties in the field of Big Health and tourism, carrying profound significance for advancing the cross-sector integration of Macau and Hengqin’s ‘tourism+’ initiatives,” said Wu Song, chairman of GMTCM.