• Sands China CEO Grant Chum emphasized the event economy’s importance in Macau’s diversification during a Keynote Address at G2E Asia.
• Chum said flagship events and MICE help drive international and business tourism to Macau, with spillover effect for local economy.

Sands China Ltd’s CEO and Executive Director Grant Chum has reaffirmed the group’s commitment to advancing Macau’s economic development, emphasizing the event economy with entertainment and sports driving high-quality tourism to Macau.

At the opening ceremony of G2E Asia 2026, the annual trade show and conference for the Asian gaming industry, the CEO and Executive Director gave insights to 200 industry leaders and tourism stakeholders on Macau’s tourism ecosystem and how to sustain its competitiveness.

He highlighted Sands China’s contributions to the city’s diversification efforts for over 20 years, noting its critical mass of high-quality integrated resorts and strong infrastructure, all bolstered by long-term political stability due to the leadership of the central government and the Macao SAR Government under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework.

The next phase of diversification, the CEO indicated, focuses on attracting international visitors and curating globally significant events to maximize the impact and long-term value of events, generating a spillover effect on Macau’s economy and benefitting a wide scope of industries.

Flagship events such as the NBA China Games, held in October of last year, mark significant milestones in this journey. The basketball extravaganza generated 3 billion impressions on social media platforms across mainland China, significantly enhancing Macau’s visibility on global sports and entertainment networks.

Sands China also curated a series of 100 extended activities and initiatives around the event, including NBA House, the Impact Week community event, fan engagement and the launch of Macau’s first NBA flagship store, extending the impact from the arena out through the community.

Also within his keynote speech at G2E Asia, Chum outlined Sands China’s visionary integration, transformative innovation and how its inclusive growth strategy has helped shape the blueprint for Macau’s sustainable development.

The executive noted how the group’s forward-looking blueprint originated with the vision of the late founder of Las Vegas Sands, Sheldon G. Adelson, who guided the group to open its first property in Macau, Sands Macao, in 2004. This was quickly followed by the launch of The Venetian Macao, the city’s first large-scale integrated resort to include entertainment, retail, hospitality and MICE facilities – laying the foundation for the Cotai Strip, which draws millions of visitors every year.

As the pioneer for the integrated resort model in Macau, Sands China constantly works to attract both leisure and business visitors to the SAR, using its 1.6 million square feet of MICE facilities to draw world-class events and a large flow of business visitors, extending their stay and strengthening Macau’s status as a leading business tourism destination.

Through its world-class facilities and offerings, Sands China bolsters Macau’s sustainable diversification vision not only through tourism benefits but also in creating meaningful and lasting contributions to the local community. Extending the synergy from its large-scale events, the group promotes community care, helps bolster volunteering services, fosters the development of Macau’s arts and culture, empowers SMEs and advances community revitalization – spreading the benefits of tourism growth across the whole of society.

Sands China’s CEO reaffirmed the group’s unwavering confidence in Macau’s future, pledging to continue to invest in high-quality non-gaming projects, working closely with the government, industry and community to continue the city’s development as a “World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.”