Tourists flock to Macau ahead of NBA China Games, but businesses wait for cash boost
Build up to first game between Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns slow and steady, business owners in city say
Visitors began flocking into Macau on Thursday ahead of the first NBA China Games in six years, although locals and business owners said they had yet to see the effects and hoped future events had more publicity.
At The Venetian Macau, where the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns will tip off the 2025 NBA China Games on Friday, tourists who had arrived early checked out merchandise and scouted the venue.
The league has set up a 151,000 sq ft NBA House at the hotel’s Cotai Expo area, where fans can experience immersive exhibitions and photo spots.
Aiden Gan, 43, a business owner from Guangdong province, said he had landed in Macau earlier in the day with two other friends, with the trio revealing they had spent “several thousand [yuan]” on tickets for the two games, and about 6,000 yuan (US$840) on hotels.
“We figured it would be fun,” he said. “The price [of the hotel and tickets] is high, but expected … we’ve been following NBA for decades.”
But while the atmosphere was starting to pick up at the Cotai Strip, the rest of Macau had yet to feel the effect of the tourist influx.