Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAR 2021年3月 亞博匯 22 Coming at a cost of aroundUS$2 billion, The Londoner will become Sands China’s third themed resort in Macau, with its distinctly British features designed specifically to resonate with Chinese tourists. 倫敦人耗資20億美元，是金沙中國在澳門的第 三個主題度假村，其鮮明的英倫特色意在吸引中 國遊客的垂青。 COVER STORY F ar removed from the international fanfare that greeted the launch of The Venetian Macao in 2007 and The Parisian Macao in 2016, Sands China’s latest Macau integrated resort concept, The Londoner Macao, quietly opened its doors in February to a relatively small gathering of staff and local industry guests. While somber might be an overstatement, the atmosphere was certainly subdued given the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on international travel, not to mention the passing of founder, Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson just four weeks earlier. But Sands China Ltd and its US parent, Las Vegas Sands Corp, have high hopes that The Londoner Macao will shine brightest in years to come, lifting the largely underwhelming performance of its predecessor, Sands Cotai Central, to the same dizzying heights as its Cotai Strip brethren. Coming at a cost of around US$2 billion, The Londoner will become Sands China’s third themed resort in Macau, with its distinctly British features designed specifically to resonatewithChinese tourists: multiple studies conducted both within China and abroad in recent years pinpoint France, Italy – already covered by Sands’ Parisian and Venetian resorts – and the UK among the top European destinations for Chinese travelers. “From a branding perspective, The Londoner makes sense because they’re creating thematic worlds,” explains independent consultant and board advisor Kevin Clayton, a former Executive Vice President – Marketing Operations for Sands China