Sands China Ltd. and Trip.com Group Jointly Stage Metaverse Gourmet Event and Promote Macao as 'Creative City of Gastronomy'

Trip.com Group Gourmet 2022 Global Restaurant Awards Ceremony
held at the metaverse venue of The Londoner Macao

(Macao, Nov. 4, 2022) – Sands China and Trip.com Group co-hosted the 'Trip.com Group Gourmet 2022 Global Restaurant Awards Ceremony and the First Metaverse Gourmet Event' today. With the support of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the events aimed to spotlight outstanding restaurants, and promote exchange and interaction between local and overseas businesses in every sector of Macao's tourism industry to enhance the visitor experience and accelerate tourism recovery.

Sands China Ltd. is committed to enriching Macao's tourism and leisure elements, promoting Macao as a UNESCO-designated 'Creative City of Gastronomy', inheriting and innovating Macao's unique gastronomic treasures, and contributing to its economic diversification and development into a world centre of tourism and leisure.

The 'Trip.com Group Gourmet 2022 Global Restaurant Awards Ceremony and the First Metaverse Gourmet Event' was kicked off online by Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macao Government Tourism Office; Grant Chum, Chief Operating Officer of Sands China Ltd.; and Jane Sun, Chief Executive Officer of Trip.com Group. The event provided an innovative event experience, running at the metaverse venue of The Londoner Macao where participants interacted via a digital avatar of themselves.

At the event, Trip.com Group, Shanghai Digital Exchange, Tencent, and Sands China Ltd. also released a limited number of customised NFRs on the Trip.com Group platform. The novel event format showcased Sands China's support for and active participation in Macao's cultural tourism metaverse to offer an immersive and elevated traveller experience, and will boost the city's cultural tourism digital economy and drive the high-quality recovery of its tourism industry.

The highly anticipated 'Trip.com Group Gourmet 2022 Global Restaurant Awards' covers 66 cities in China (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) and awards a total of 7,026 restaurants in five categories: Black Diamond, Diamond, Platinum, Gold Medal, and Silver Medal. It offers an intuitive way to help diners find local specialities for travel and daily occasions. The awards are decided by hotel caterers, representatives of destination restaurant associations, food and travel influencers, other food and beverage (F&B) specialists, and Trip.com users based on a set of judging criteria. A total of 18 restaurants under Sands China Ltd.'s properties are recognised on the list, of which six have won platinum and above ratings, namely The Huaiyang Garden, Jiang Nan by Jereme Leung, La Chine, Zi Yat Heen, Vista 38 and The Manor.

Grant Chum, Chief Operating Officer, Sands China Ltd., said: "The event today celebrates 'City with a Bouquet of Flavours', which also captures the very essence of Macao as a premier gastronomic destination. Although the pandemic has brought an impact on the tourism industry, Sands China Ltd.'s pursuit for culinary excellence has never stopped. We are honoured to once again team up with Trip.com Group to create the first metaverse gourmet event and are thrilled to further showcase Macao's unique appeal as a UNESCO-designated 'Creative City of Gastronomy'."

As Sands China Ltd.'s newest flagship property, The Londoner Macao is an integrated resort bringing together the very best of the iconic city of London and celebrating timeless British design, history and culture alongside a traditional yet contemporary hospitality experience. The Londoner Macao presents an eclectic range of British, Asian and international dining, from British-inspired restaurants to celebrity chef dining outlets, and favourites widely popularised on the internet.