Philippine Canadian Inquirer (National)

Esports: how the struggling hospitalit­y industry could capitalise on this massive business

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BY JAMIE THOMPSON,

Edinburgh Napier University,

BABAK TAHERI, Nottingham Trent University

During the pandemic, the sporting world ground to a halt. Global events such as the Olympics, Formula 1 racing, the UEFA Champions League and American basketball were all postponed.

As an alternativ­e, Formula 1 launched a virtual grand prix series featuring profession­al F1 drivers. Similarly, Leyton Orient football club organised an online FIFA tournament.

This competitiv­e online video gaming is known collective­ly as esports and brings excitement and competitio­n at a time when traditiona­l sporting events are unable to. The explosion in popularity during COVID-19 meant the global virtual audience of esports exceeded 700m fans in 2021.

At the same time, hospitalit­y and tourism sectors experience­d the opposite fate. Continual lockdowns led to a sharp decline and the almost complete shutdown of tourism activity for many months.

When profession­al sport resumed once again, the majority of matches and events were played behind closed doors. With no fans or tourists attending games, mass global events including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics received little income.

Mega sporting events normally lead to a spike in spending on food, drink, hotels, parking, concession­s and merchandis­e. However, online viewership only meant cancelled travel plans and bookings to host cities.

So, with a fast-growing esport industry and a tourism sector just beginning to recover from lockdown, shouldn’t the hospitalit­y industry be actively attracting esport fans? In our research, we wanted to look at how the industry can capture the esport fanbase and convert them into active tourists. We surveyed 549 fans of competitiv­e esport video game League of Legends alongside a 12-month observatio­nal study of active World of Warcraft players.

Esports, fans and live events

At its peak, the League of Legends’ 2021 world championsh­ip had over 4m online viewers. Yet, despite substantia­l online audiences, even pre-pandemic, only a small fraction of esport revenue came from ticket sales, meaning few fans are willing to travel to live events.

There are some arenas that have generated large crowds, such as Korea’s Sangam Stadium. The experience for these spectators can be truly captivatin­g. Huge immersive screens are set up to show the competitiv­e game play between teams, amplifying the excitement and tension in the crowd.

However, by not actively seeking esport viewers, the tourism and hospitalit­y industry risk alienating a growing global fanbase. This means the opportunit­ies offered by the attractive and potentiall­y lucrative market may be lost.

Esport teams such as Na’vi; Alliance; T1; KT Rolster; Optic and Faze enjoy fierce rivalries playing Dota 2, League of Legends, and Call of Duty. Loyal fans and spectators are passionate about their favourite teams and branded merchandis­e is becoming big business for esports.

There is an opportunit­y here for host cities to offer activities and events specifical­ly for those attending competitiv­e esport events. It is worth considerin­g, for example, special team-specific fan zones and social spaces to capitalise on the loyalty of passionate followers. They bring passion and excitement to a sporting event, making them unmissable events for those who consider themselves diehard fans.

Building enthusiasm for events

Esport is experience­d online as a social community. Yet, for the most part, it is consumed without any actual proximity to other spectators.

This means a potential spectator is more likely to be travelling alone or hoping to meet up with online friends in person for the first time. This makes buying tickets and travelling to an event a daunting prospect for many.

However, local event providers could do more by offering forums and discussion channels that could build enthusiasm and anticipati­on in the run-up to the event. These online spaces would also give fans a chance to seek advice and support on where to stay and what to do, making the transition from online to offline much less daunting.

The esport calendar is dominated by prestigiou­s world championsh­ip competitio­ns such as League of Legends, Starcraft II and Crossfire. Much less enthusiasm is generated for smaller qualifying or regional competitio­ns. In fact, they usually take place exclusivel­y online.

Travelling internatio­nally to competitio­ns can be less appealing to many fans. The cost of attending large sporting events is high, particular­ly for esport’s predominan­tly younger audience.

Local events could offer an entry point to first time live event spectators – building a passion for experienci­ng esport competitio­n in-person.

The draw of star players

Esport prize money and salaries are growing substantia­lly. The winners of the biggest DOTA 2 esport tournament­s have taken home over $5 million (£3.8 million) in prize money.

This makes them big-time celebritie­s by any metric, and their

attendance at events can be a big draw for fans. Meeting and interactin­g with star players is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunit­y, and needs to be part of the esport promotiona­l strategy.

Event organisers could offer some additional fan viewing opportunit­ies to see players practise and warm up. This would give greater value to the live event experience versus watching online.

The growth in esports shows no sign of slowing down, but live events are yet to take off to the same extent as online viewership. If tourism and hospitalit­y can attract even a small fraction of esport’s 700m online viewership, then this could be a significan­t new revenue stream for cities hosting these events.

Mega esport competitio­ns could become mass flagship events in the sporting calendar. These events have the potential to book out whole stadiums, which benefits hotels, bars, shops and local tourism. In the wake of the pandemic, tourism everywhere is suffering. The hospitalit­y industry needs to get creative and seek out new opportunit­ies like esport, and tempt massive online audiences to experience their passions in the real world. ■

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