KUALA LUMPUR, 4 September 2026 — Macao has set out its case to Malaysian travellers and travel trade, placing the development of a Muslim-friendly environment and multi-destination itinerary planning at the centre of its cooperation agenda at the Macao Economic, Trade and Tourism Investment Promotion Seminar in Kuala Lumpur on 3 September. The seminar and an accompanying reception hosted by the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region gathered more than 350 guests and produced over 60 cooperation agreements from more than 120 business-matching sessions.
Muslim-friendly tourism, tourism-product development and multi-destination travel deployment were named among the priority areas of cooperation, alongside exhibition collaboration, brand marketing, high technology and TCM-driven big-health. For the Malaysian travel trade, the practical signal is that Macao is willing to build product around Muslim travellers rather than treat them as an incidental segment.
Mr. Sam Hou Fai, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR, pointed to the groundwork already in place. Macao and Malaysia are both key nodes along the Maritime Silk Road, bonded by close cultural affinity and frequent exchanges, and visa-free arrangements and direct air services have already delivered results across tourism, exhibitions, culture and education.
“Malaysia is not only an important economic and trade partner and a major international source market for Macao — the two sides also hold tremendous cooperation potential in cultural exchanges, educational collaboration and the promotion of Muslim-friendly tourism,” he said.
Selling Macao as one stop on a longer tripSeveral of the agreements signed address multi-destination travel deployment, reflecting how the Malaysian outbound market actually behaves. Rather than positioning Macao as a standalone destination, the emphasis is on packaging it with the wider Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area — and, in the other direction, extending Greater Bay Area travellers into Malaysia and the region.
YB Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia, said Malaysia is ready to embrace closer cooperation in tourism, education and trade, and that both sides should proactively create the conditions to engage enterprises, educational institutions, tourism operators and cultural organisations. “The visit by the Macao SAR delegation should open up further room for collaboration, and we want to see tangible cooperation results,” he said.
“Tourism +”: beyond the sightseeing itineraryThe seminar devoted a series of thematic presentations and special-topic sharing sessions to Macao’s “Tourism +” strategy, which extends the destination proposition into exhibitions, wellness and medical travel. The “Tourism + Medical Care” big-health track was given particular prominence: Macao Union Medical Centre showcased advanced medical technologies and service modules built around the needs of international visitors.
Macao’s new law on private healthcare institutions, due to take effect soon, adds a “day hospital” category bridging general hospitals and clinics, introduces one-stop licensing, and sets rules for telemedicine, outreach medical services and advanced therapies. Combined with Macao-Hengqin collaboration, it underpins Macao’s intention to develop medical tourism with Southeast Asian partners.
At the eventGuests included Mr. Sam Hou Fai, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR; YB Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia; YB Sim Tze Tzin, Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia; H.E. Ouyang Yujing, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia; members of the Macao SAR Government and its entrepreneur delegation; representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia; and figures from all sectors of Malaysian society.
