Sports events, if well-presented and marketed, can bring “significant upside” in broadening Macau’s appeal as a tourism destination, and in boosting the appeal and profile of the hosting resorts. So says Jeffrey Jiang (pictured), executive vice president for entertainment services at casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, in an interview with GGRAsia.
The company brought the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts (MMA) franchise back to Macau in November 2024 after a 10-year absence from the city. In September last year, the company said that between this year and 2029 it would host three UFC Fight Night events at Galaxy Arena in its Galaxy Macau casino resort on Cotai. The first of those is on May 30, the firm announced recently.
“The UFC partnership is Galaxy Macau’s first sporting IP [intellectual property] event after the [Covid-19] pandemic,” Mr Jiang remarked to GGRAsia.
He added: “With this strategic partnership, Galaxy Arena elevates from hosting individual sports to securing a series of events held over several years.
“This is advantageous to our overall strategy and planning as there is longer time and better opportunities to discuss and negotiate with our counterparts to orchestrate tactical events that will both support the promotion of the main event, and the image building of Macau as Asia’s sports and entertainment hub,” noted the Galaxy Entertainment executive.
The UFC partnership has been secured amid growth observed in “both the number and scale” of resort-based sports events that Galaxy Entertainment had staged since 2023, Mr Jiang observed. The year 2023 concided with the end of pandemic-related travel restrictions.
“Macau is moving towards a phase where integrated resort operators are increasingly developing distinct sports programming identities, often anchored by their venue assets, strategic partnerships, and the types of audiences they aim to engage,” observed Mr Jiang.
For Galaxy Entertainment, sports events must “align strongly” with the company’s other resort offerings and raise Macau’s global profile, said the executive. UFC presentations are in that category.
Others that fit the company’s profile are the major table tennis presentation, the ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup Macao; and the Volleyball Nations League Women’s Finals. They are organised in respective association with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), noted Mr Jiang.
“Sporting and showbiz events have much in common, in that fans follow their stars around the world to watch events featuring them,” he stated.
“It can be expected that many fans will visit Macau because their star fighters are participating in the UFC Fight Nights in Macau,”Mr Jiang added.
Such fans can be “more financially comfortable” than the average person, “which is a crucial element to support their travel and accommodation [needs],” he suggested.
‘Reason to visit‘
Audiences that are attracted to Galaxy Entertainment’s hosted sports events might be “core fans” or casual fans of particular sports, as well as “affluent corporate and VIP guests”. The latter category is likely to be interested in the company’s resort offerings, such as “private suites” and other premium hospitality services, suggested Mr Jiang.
“Sports events… drive incremental demand across hotel stays, food and beverage, retail, MICE [meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions] spaces, and entertainment, creating a broader economic footprint than [event] ticketing alone,” said Mr Jiang.
“Moreover, sports are highly effective for engaging high-value customers – including premium mass and HNW [high net worth] segments – through curated hospitality experiences,” he added.
The executive further observed: “It is noteworthy that sports fans, such as UFC fans, do travel to a destination solely for a particular event or even a particular athlete. Hosting sports events is a crucial step to attract and widen visitor demographics.”
The company sees opportunity to expand its client base beyond the core market of mainland China: namely to Hong Kong and Taiwan; and countries in Southeast Asia, plus other select international markets, depending on the fan base of particular sports, Mr Jiang explained.
“The approach is to use sports as a ‘reason to visit’ – combining it with Macau’s broader entertainment and resort offering, while drawing guests’ attention to sports happenings at Galaxy Macau, regardless of their knowledge of a type of sport,” said Mr Jiang.
Adept marketing of sports events could even help casino resorts in drawing people not otherwise considered sports fans, or even recruit them as fresh fans for a particular sport, the Galaxy Entertainment executive suggested.
“Expanding fanbases may be achieved as guests may be attracted to certain events that coincide with their visit dates,” said Mr Jiang.
“For example, as we will be hosting week-long extended events parallel to the upcoming UFC events. Non-fans of MMA will be surrounded by information about that type of sport and gain deeper understanding of MMA. Once better informed, they may eventually become MMA fans.”
Entertainment and sports ‘hub’
Macau has “strong potential” to be Asia’s leading destination for entertainment and sports events, with the city’s “mature integrated resort ecosystems”, supportive government policy and transport network, said Mr Jiang.
From an operator’s standpoint, Macau has to overcome several challenges in order to realise that potential, the executive remarked.
“As more events come into the market, scheduling becomes tighter – especially for prime dates – and venue availability must be managed strategically,” said Mr Jiang.
He also suggested: “To truly scale Macau’s sports profile, continued investment is needed in international promotion, distribution, and travel packaging, so that event demand converts into multi-night visitation.”
While Macau’s integrated resorts are a “plus” for the city’s ambition to be a global destination for entertainment and sports events, it faces competition from other regional centres, the Galaxy Entertainment executive remarked.
“Macau is competing with international contenders, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo and Taipei,” said Mr Jiang. “As with Macau, these cities possess professional teams” of events organisers, “and international attractiveness. They also have venues larger than those in Macau,” he added.
The entertainment services executive also remarked: “World-class sports events require robust ecosystems: broadcast, production, ticketing systems, human resources, security, and cross-department coordination of a high standard.”
“However, the professional team at Galaxy Arena possesses ample knowledge and skill sets to fit various types of events. In addition, by working with local service providers… we help showcase international standards” to local businesses, “upscaling the overall capacities of the city’s workforce,” Mr Jiang noted.
