Macau wants gaming concessionaires to promote ‘resorts’ with health-related projects, the Government said today at the presentation of the Lines of Government Action (LAG) for 2023 for the Social Affairs and Culture portfolio.
“Macao’s large-scale resorts will be promoted to develop health-oriented tourism projects and products, so as to contribute to the development of health tourism,” said Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong U , in the Legislative Assembly.
The person in charge had already mentioned on Saturday that this was one of the conditions required of the six gaming concessionaires operating in the territory and that saw their licenses renewed for ten years.
“We call on competitors to enhance and improve Macao’s image as a world center for tourism and leisure, through health and well-being, introduce activities and projects that can promote health-oriented tourism products, and also attract qualified staff in collaboration and exchange with other international institutions”, he said.
The commitment to the ‘big health’ sector appears as one of the territory’s responses to Macau’s heavy dependence on the gaming industry which, since the beginning of the pandemic, with the “zero covid” policy, has accumulated unprecedented losses due to the drop in the number of visitors.
“In the future, we will have the Islands Health Care Complex, and also the ‘big health’ industry developed by the ‘resorts’, so we have good expectations in relation to this industry”, added the secretary.
The Islands Health Care Complex will come into operation in phases “at the end of next year”, and also according to Elsie Ao Ieong U, the Government, “in collaboration with the Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH, Hospital da Faculty of Medicine of the Union of Beijing), will develop the complex into a regional medical center of the State, in order to provide high-level health services to the population of Macao”.
The law that will define the management of the new hospital on the Islands will be considered by the Legislative Assembly in December, the secretary stressed.
