Geotourism and Theme Parks

 

PERSPECTIVES

 Geotourism and Theme Parks

 “Through our close partnerships with globally renowned IPs such as LINE FRIENDS, we hope to uncover more unique tourism resources, enhance Macau’s appeal as a destination, and promote ‘IP + Tourism’ as a model for the diversified development of the tourism industry. These partnerships mark a new milestone in Macau Theme Park and Resort’s efforts to foster diversity in Macau’s tourism sector and demonstrate our unwavering confidence in the cultural and tourism development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.”

Angela Leong

 In the 21st century, tourism has evolved beyond mere travel and leisure, becoming a strategic field of symbolic production, territorial development, and cultural diplomacy. Within this context, theme parks integrated into hotels and resorts emerge as sophisticated geotourism devices-not only for their ability to attract visitors, but for their power to narrate territory, reinterpret identities, and generate cultural value.

The concept of geotourism, as defined by international organizations and academic institutions, goes far beyond scenic appreciation. It refers to a form of tourism that values the geography, culture, history, and identity of a place. It is an approach that transcends conventional tourism, offering an interpretive immersion into lived space. Geotourism does not consume territory-it reveals it, narrates it, and ennobles it.

In this light, theme parks embedded within hotels and resorts represent a paradigmatic evolution. By integrating narrative, architecture, gastronomy, art, and memory, these spaces become platforms for territorial interpretation, where the visitor is not merely accommodated but engaged in an identity-driven dramaturgy. Unlike conventional amusement parks, hotel-based theme parks function as symbolic territorialization devices. Every element-from scenography to cultural programming-is conceived as an act of interpretation. The swimming pool ceases to be a mere leisure space and becomes an evocation of local geography. The restaurant does more than serve meals-it offers gustatory compositions that narrate the territory. The guest room is not just shelter-it transforms into a stage for thematic immersion.

These ventures operate as micro-cultural republics, where territory is dramatized, aestheticized, and experienced. Their strength lies in the ability to transform space into language, service into narrative, and consumption into recognition. The value of hotel-based theme parks in the context of geotourism far exceeds the visitor’s experience. It is strategic, institutional, and symbolic. These enterprises generate symbolic capital by positioning territory as a creative and narrative space; they contribute to international recognition-as in the case of Macau, designated a “Creative City” by UNESCO; they promote cultural diplomacy by integrating local knowledge with global techniques; they stimulate territorial economies by valorizing local products, ingredients, and talent; and they strengthen collective identity by offering experiences that educate, move, and connect.

Despite their originality and narrative power, the model of theme parks as geotourism devices remains underdeveloped in international literature. Most studies focus on amusement parks or conventional resorts, overlooking the territorial and symbolic dimensions of these hybrid ventures. It is essential to recognize and deepen this emerging analytical category of territorial experience architectures that dramatize place through thematic hospitality.

Theme parks integrated into hotels and resorts represent a strategic innovation in the field of geotourism. By transforming territory into narrative, hospitality into dramaturgy, and the visitor into interpreter, these spaces inaugurate a new form of tourism-more sensitive, more intelligent, and more committed to cultural valorization.

Their value lies not only in aesthetics or entertainment, but in their capacity to produce recognition, belonging, and legacy. They are, therefore, instruments of symbolic diplomacy, territorial development, and cultural innovation. As such, they deserve to be studied, protected, and replicated as models of excellence in contemporary tourism.

Angela Leong and her son Arnaldo Ho have played fundamental roles in the creation and current management of Lisboeta Macau-not merely as a commercial venture, but as a tribute to the cultural identity and collective memory of Macau’s residents. With nostalgic architecture inspired by historical landmarks such as Hotel Estoril and Macau Palace, the project reflects a deep respect for the city’s heritage and a clear intention to preserve its unique character amid rapid modernization.

Angela Leong’s long-standing career in Macau’s Legislative Assembly and Arnaldo Ho’s public commitment to “never forget his roots in Macau” underscore their dedication to the local community. Their leadership in this project reveals a broader vision that values resident recognition, cultural continuity, and the protection of Macau’s social fabric-ensuring that the population remains at the heart of the city’s evolution.

Lisboeta Macau stands as an emblematic example of this approach. By integrating a theme park, hospitality, gastronomy, and cultural programming, the complex offers an innovative reading of Sino-Portuguese identity. Its architecture evokes historic Lisbon, while its interior spaces celebrate the cultural fusion that defines Macau. Positioned between urban memory and tourism innovation, Lisboeta Macau is not merely a hotel-it is, in essence, a work of narrative architecture that transforms territory into experience.

Located in the Cotai area, among major gaming resorts and international convention centers, Lisboeta Macau emerges as a disruptive alternative, with a theme park that not only entertains but also reflects, preserves, and communicates. Its proposal is radically distinct from conventional Asian tourism models. It articulates urban memory, retrofuturist aesthetics, and Sino-Portuguese identity in a spatial language that transcends spectacle and inscribes itself in the pedagogy of place.

Rather than importing global narratives, Lisboeta Macau constructs its own urban mythology-sensory and deeply rooted in the history of Macau. The theme park is conceived as a symbolic extension of the city, an affective cartography that reinterprets Macau of the 1960s and 1970s through a contemporary lens. The architecture of the complex incorporates façades inspired by historic buildings, stylized Portuguese pavements, evocative lighting reminiscent of old commercial districts, and settings that recall pre-modern urban life. Each element is designed to function as a sign, a trace, and an evocation.

Among its distinctive features is the retrofuturist design, which blends nostalgia and innovation to create a visual atmosphere that simultaneously honors the past and projects the future. This fusion is rare in themed tourism, where most ventures opt for generic or decontextualized futuristic aesthetics. The urban setting recreates streets, squares, and façades that recall historic Macau, promoting collective memory as a sensory experience. Visitors do not merely observe-they inhabit, traverse, and interact with a reimagined city. Integrated narrative is another defining trait: every space within the park tells a story. Gastronomy, décor, attractions, and even pedestrian pathways are conceived as chapters of a territorial narrative. Lisboeta Macau is not a theme park about Macau-it is Macau told through the language of space.

The experience offered is totalizing. It is not a collection of isolated attractions, but a cultural cartography where each element serves territorial identity. When compared to other hotel-integrated theme parks in Asia, Lisboeta Macau’s uniqueness becomes evident. In Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa offers experiences centered on global brands like Transformers or Jurassic Park. In Tokyo and Hong Kong, Disney hotels replicate fictional universes that could exist anywhere in the world. In mainland China, ventures such as Chimelong Hotel or Hangzhou Songcheng Park blend local cultural elements with mass entertainment, but without coherent territorial narrative. In Thailand, hotels like The Okura Prestige Bangkok present discreet thematic settings, without integrated parks. None of these projects articulate, as Lisboeta Macau does, a theme park proposal that is simultaneously urban, historical, sensory, and educational. None transform territory into experiential narrative. None propose tourism as a form of spatial reading.

Lisboeta Macau fully embodies the principles of geotourism and cultural diplomacy, understood as tourism practices that sustain and enhance the geographic character of a place-including its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. Moreover, it plays a strategic role for Macau by offering an alternative to gaming tourism, contributing to the diversification of the local economy; by celebrating Sino-Portuguese fusion, it reinforces the city’s image as a bridge between cultures; and by integrating urban memory with thematic innovation, it positions itself as an international reference in cultural tourism with identity.

Lisboeta Macau is not merely innovative-it is singular. In a world where tourism has become spectacle, it proposes an experience with soul, history, and territory. A journey that not only entertains, but reflects; that not only attracts, but educates; that not only amuses, but transforms. This project constitutes a new paradigm in hotel-based themed tourism, with no direct equivalents in Asia or other regions. It is narrative architecture, spatial pedagogy, symbolic diplomacy. In essence, it is a work that deserves to be recognized, protected, and disseminated as an international reference in cultural and territorial innovation.

Connie Kong, as Theme Park Director at Lisboeta Macau, has played a fundamental role in shaping the park’s operational vision and its community engagement strategy. Her leadership reflects a strong commitment to integrating local culture into the entertainment experience, ensuring that the park not only entertains but also resonates with the collective identity of Macau’s residents. Under her direction, Lisboeta Macau has actively supported local SMEs through initiatives such as the Business Matching Session, promoting economic inclusion and reinforcing the park’s role as a socially responsible entity in the region.

Christine Hong Barbosa and Sophia Mok have also played key roles in expanding Lisboeta Macau’s presence and purpose. As Vice President of Marketing and Retail Development, Christine Hong Barbosa has created shopping experiences that blend nostalgia with innovation, positioning the park as a destination that honors Macau’s past while embracing its future. Meanwhile, Sophia Mok, Vice President of Sales and Corporate Communications, has been instrumental in building strategic partnerships and crafting narratives that highlight the park’s cultural relevance and its community-centered philosophy. Together, their contributions have helped establish Lisboeta Macau not merely as a themed attraction, but as a meaningful space that celebrates local heritage and fosters pride among Macau’s residents.

Lisboeta Macau transcends conventional entertainment offerings. It proposes a true sensory cartography, where each attraction is designed to engage with territory, collective memory, and local culture. It is an experiential model that surpasses the paradigm of Asian theme parks by integrating body, space, and narrative into a cultural tourism proposal with identity. The attractions are not mere leisure devices-they are instruments of territorial reading, historical evocation, and emblematic diplomacy. Each is conceived as a chapter in a larger narrative, where the visitor does not merely consume, but participates, interprets, and transforms.

Lisboeta Macau offers experiential narratives, such as ZIPCITY Macau, which stands out as geography in motion. As Macau’s first urban zipline, it is more than an adrenaline attraction-it is an aerial installation that crosses the hotel’s skyline, offering visitors a panoramic reading of the urban landscape. As they fly over façades inspired by 1960s Macau, the visitor’s body becomes a vehicle of spatial recognition. The experience is not only physical-it is cartographic, aesthetic, and symbolic. ZIPCITY transforms space into spectacle and movement into interpretation.

 

GoAirborne Macau represents the body as an instrument of territoriality. This indoor skydiving simulator is a technological and sensory innovation unprecedented in the region. By combining wind tunnel technology with augmented reality, the experience simulates flight over the city, reinforcing the connection between body and territory. The visitor not only feels, but flies, observes, and understands. GoAirborne is a metaphor for aerial perspective, living cartography, and experiential geography.

LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DA AMIGO embodies pop culture as transnational diplomacy. This themed space dedicated to Asian pop culture is more than a merchandising hub-it functions as a platform for cultural diplomacy, attracting younger audiences and connecting Macau to transnational networks of symbolic consumption. Its playful atmosphere, iconic characters, and contemporary aesthetics create an experience that transcends borders, reinforcing the cosmopolitan dimension of the park.

Maison L’OCCITANE represents nature as a sensory experience. The brand’s first themed unit within a hotel context is a work of sensory design. The rooms are inspired by natural ingredients such as lavender, verbena, and cherry blossom, offering a stay that connects guests to the aromatic landscapes of Provence. This proposal is not merely aesthetic-it is therapeutic, ecological, and symbolic. Maison L’OCCITANE transforms the resting space into ritual, and hospitality into botanical experience.

Emperor Cinemas MX4D is image as territorial immersion. Equipped with motion technology, scents, and tactile effects, it offers a multisensory cinematic experience. Films are carefully selected to reinforce territorial and cultural narratives, positioning the space as protagonist. The visitor does not merely watch-they participate, feel, smell, and vibrate. The cinema becomes an extension of the park, and the image, a tool of immersion.

H853 Fun Factory merges international brands with design inspired by the city’s futuristic aesthetic. It is not merely a commercial space, but also a living museum, a retail gallery, and an evocation of urban modernity. Each shop, each display window, each corridor is conceived to tell a story, reconstruct an era, and transform the act of shopping into a gesture of memory.

Geogastronomy at Lisboeta Macau is not a complementary service-it is a language that translates territory into flavor, memory into recipe, and landscape into sensory experience. The cuisine practiced at Lisboeta is a living extension of the theme park, where each dish is a cartography, each ingredient an evocation, and each technique a bridge between tradition and innovation. The gastronomic proposal is deeply rooted in the Sino-Portuguese fusion that defines Macau, yet it does not merely reproduce historical recipes. Here, cooking is understood as a creative act and a gesture of territorial interpretation. The complex’s restaurants do not merely feed—they narrate, educate, and celebrate.

 

At Stanley’s Café, for instance, the elegance of memory is palpable. The décor is inspired by colonial cafés of the 20th century, with dark woods, soft lighting, and details that evoke the tea salons of Canton and Lisbon. But it is in the kitchen where true cultural alchemy is revealed-where flavors and stories intertwine to offer the visitor an experience that is both intimate and universal. Chef de Cuisine Raymond, a reference figure in Macau’s thematic gastronomy, presents creations that are true identity syntheses: chau-chau rice with codfish, Portuguese custard tarts infused with jasmine tea, and desserts that reinterpret Portuguese classics using local ingredients. His approach combines technical rigor with historical sensitivity. Each dish is conceived as narrative, homage, and a gesture of gastronomic diplomacy. Stanley’s is not merely a café-it is a space of edible memory, where territory is savored. The décor evokes colonial salons, but it is in the kitchen that cultural alchemy transforms taste into a tool of historical reading.

Royal Palace represents haute cuisine as sensory cartography. Here, gastronomy attains the status of art. Tasting menus are conceived as gustatory itineraries that traverse coastal waters, local markets, and ancestral knowledge. Ingredients such as deep-sea shrimp, regional black pork, and carefully cultivated aromatic herbs are treated with precision and respect. The cuisine at Royal Palace is not only sophisticated-it is territorial. Each dish affirms Macau as a creative space, a gastronomic territory, a city that thinks through flavor. The restaurant contributes directly to Macau’s recognition as a “Creative City of Gastronomy” by UNESCO-not only through technical excellence, but through its ability to transform place into universal language.

Angela Café & Lounge embodies the delicacy of signature cuisine. The experience is defined by elegance, serenity, and precision. Under the direction of Executive Chef António Coelho and Chef de Cuisine Sally Jimenez, the space offers a culinary approach that elevates local ingredients through contemporary techniques. The dishes are delicate, balanced, and deeply sensory. Chef António, with classical training and a contemporary vision, works flavors with sobriety and depth. Chef Sally, with aesthetic sensitivity and technical mastery, transforms each dish into a visual and gustatory composition. Together, they create a cuisine that is both intimate and universal, local and cosmopolitan. Angela Café & Lounge is more than a dining space-it is a laboratory of geogastronomy, where territory is interpreted with delicacy and rigor.

None of these experiences would be possible without the institutional vision of Terence Chu, Vice President of the Food and Beverage Department at Lisboeta Macau. Terence leads with strategic intelligence, cultural sensitivity, and a commitment to excellence. He not only coordinates operations-he designs experiences. His ability to integrate chefs, spaces, narratives, and audiences transforms Lisboeta Macau’s food sector into the central axis of its thematic proposal. Under his guidance, gastronomy has evolved from service to language, and from function to mission. His work represents the elevation of gastronomy within themed tourism, raising it to the status of cultural diplomacy and territorial innovation. Macau’s recognition as a “Creative City of Gastronomy” by UNESCO is, in part, a reflection of his vision and dedication.

The geogastronomy practiced at Lisboeta Macau constitutes a unique model in the international landscape. By integrating territory, memory, technique, and narrative, the complex transforms food into cultural experience, into a gesture of recognition, and into an act of creation. This project has no direct parallel in any other hotel-based theme park in the world. It deserves authorial recognition and institutional acclaim as an international reference in gastronomic tourism with identity.

 Jorge Rodrigues Simão