With world-class basketball at its heart, an Orlando Magic game offers visitors a full evening of entertainment, from live performances and arena shows to food, music, and the atmosphere of thousands of fans. For travelers, it’s a chance to experience a side of Orlando that goes beyond its theme parks and attractions.
Key takeaways:
Turn incremental sales into meaningful growth. Orlando Magic grew from a few hundred bookings through GetYourGuide to several thousand tickets per season. With limited home games between October and April, that growth has become a meaningful part of the organization’s business.
Reach travelers before they arrive. GetYourGuide helps Orlando Magic connect with travelers while they’re building their itineraries, allowing the team to reach those who may not have been actively searching for an NBA game.
Use international insights to guide growth. Key markets include Brazil, the UK, France, and Germany. GetYourGuide’s market and customer data helps Orlando Magic understand booking behavior, measure international marketing efforts, and identify new opportunities.
Make complex products simple to book. By presenting game schedules, ticket options, seating categories, and visitor information clearly, Orlando Magic makes live NBA basketball accessible to travelers who may be attending their first US sporting event.
Grow beyond distribution. After using GetYourGuide to grow ticket sales and international reach, Orlando Magic is expanding the relationship into a broader marketing partnership, with plans for stronger storytelling, greater brand visibility, and enhanced experiences for GetYourGuide customers.
Orlando Magic welcomes fans from around the world to 41 home games each season. Game night offers a new way to connect with the city, whether guests are lifelong basketball fans or attending their first US sporting event.
“The opportunity to see a game live is very rare. The majority of NBA fans and followers will never see a game live,” says Haley Meier, Senior Director of Global Tourism & Group Sales at Orlando Magic. “Live sports and entertainment were once seen as separate from the broader tourism experience. Now, they’re increasingly part of the wider mix of things travelers want to do.”
GetYourGuide has helped Orlando Magic put game night in front of travelers while they’re building their itineraries, growing its international audience and making tickets easier to find and book. Now, the relationship is expanding into a broader marketing partnership, with new opportunities to reach each other’s audiences and develop enhanced experiences for GetYourGuide customers.
We spoke to Haley about international growth, improving the booking experience, and what comes next for the partnership.
What makes an Orlando Magic game a must-do experience for visitors?
Our mission is to be world champions on and off the court, delivering legendary moments every step of the way. For visitors, that means we’re not just selling a ticket. We want fans to experience Orlando through the energy, hospitality, and excitement of attending a live NBA game.
Coming to an Orlando Magic game is a world-class basketball experience, but we also present it as a complete evening attraction. Guests can enjoy the game alongside live entertainment, music, performances, food, and the energy of the arena. We like to call it “dinner and a show.”
Customer experience is also central to what we do. Everyone from Orlando Magic employees to venue staff, ushers, parking teams, and concession staff receives Disney Institute customer-service training.
We’ve also been recognized multiple times for delivering one of the best fan experiences across the NBA and professional sports. It’s so much more than the game of basketball.
What opportunity did GetYourGuide open up for the Orlando Magic?
GetYourGuide gave us an opportunity to reach travelers who were already shopping for Orlando experiences but weren’t necessarily searching for a sporting event.
We’re looking for that incremental fan and that incremental visitor. Someone who may not have previously considered attending a Magic game but sees the experience while planning their trip and decides to add it to their itinerary.
We do a great job of connecting with the Central Florida market and our existing fan base. But GetYourGuide gives us the ability to reach a new audience and show travelers why an NBA game should be part of their visit.
Direct sales and long-standing travel-trade relationships remain important, but we think about each channel according to the customer it serves. GetYourGuide adds something different by connecting us with travelers who are already searching for things to do in Orlando.
When did you realize GetYourGuide was having a meaningful impact?
During our first season working with GetYourGuide, we sold a couple of hundred tickets. At the time, we thought, “That’s great. It’s small, but it’s incremental.”
Then, over the following seasons, we started to see exponential growth in ticket volume. We went from a couple of hundred tickets in the first season to several thousand tickets per season. When you break that down across all our home games between October and April, it becomes a meaningful and impactful part of the business.
When we saw that major jump in year two or year three, that was the moment when we realized: “This is a huge opportunity.” We’ve continued to invest in the partnership and learn more about GetYourGuide’s focus on expanding its reach, improving its offering, and enhancing the customer experience. Those are all reasons to continue investing in the relationship and pursuing further growth.
In your experience, how can GetYourGuide help operators attract international customers?
Latin America, particularly Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, has always been a very strong market for us. The UK is another strong market, while France and Germany are also important.
GetYourGuide’s market and customer insights help us understand where customers are coming from and how they’re booking. That information informs how we do business and helps us measure the results of our international marketing efforts. We put a strong emphasis on promoting Orlando Magic in key markets.
Being able to see sales coming from those specific regions helps us understand where our efforts are having an impact and identify opportunities for continued growth.
How do you make NBA tickets easy for first-time visitors to understand and book?
Simplicity is really important. Ticket prices vary depending on the game, opponent, and seating area, which can be confusing for someone attending their first NBA game. We’ve adapted how we present the experience so visitors can quickly see which games are on during their stay and choose from enough options without feeling overwhelmed.
Clear information matters too. Visitors need to know how to access their tickets, get to the venue, and what to expect when they arrive. We also offer different experience levels, from value tickets to premium seating with all-inclusive food and beverage. If someone is choosing between a $30 ticket and a $150 ticket, we need to make it clear what each offers and why they might choose one over the other.
How have GetYourGuide’s tools improved the customer experience?
When we first started working with GetYourGuide, our ticketing process was more offline, which created some friction. We’ve since moved to an API connection, making ticket delivery much faster and smoother for customers.
The customer communication tools have also been really valuable. In one case, a guest had trouble accessing their ticket and missed the game. We found out quickly through GetYourGuide, contacted them directly, sent a fan package, and invited them to another game during their visit.
For us, every fan matters. Being able to respond quickly when something goes wrong gives us the chance to turn a poor experience into a positive one.
How does GetYourGuide support a seasonal product?
Our seasonality makes timing really important. The NBA releases its schedule in August, tickets go on sale immediately afterward, and games begin in October. GetYourGuide helps us get listings live quickly so we can capitalize on that initial demand.
The same applies if we reach the playoffs, when new tickets need to go live at very short notice. Having a direct relationship with an OTA that understands our product and can help expedite listings makes a real difference when every available game date counts.
How is the Orlando Magic partnership with GetYourGuide expanding for the 2026/27 season?
The next step is about deepening the partnership. We see an opportunity for stronger storytelling, expanded product listings, and enhanced experiences. We’re interested in developing exclusive packages that give GetYourGuide customers access to something extra special.
For GetYourGuide, success would mean increased awareness and stronger engagement through the marketing channels we’re developing together. For Orlando Magic, success would mean continued international reach and growth in ticket and product sales.
But ultimately, it always comes back to the visitor. We want customers to discover our experience easily, book with confidence, and enjoy a seamless journey from the moment they find the product to the moment they leave the arena.
We want them to walk away with a stronger affinity for Orlando Magic, Orlando as a destination, and GetYourGuide.
What advice would you give other operators?
GetYourGuide isn’t simply a distribution channel where you plug in a product and sell tickets. Treat it as a partnership. Invest time in strong content and work closely with them.
You know your product and audience. GetYourGuide knows its marketplace, customers, and booking behavior. Bringing that knowledge together helps you create an experience that works for travelers rather than simply applying the same approach you use elsewhere.
My advice is simple: make your experience easy to discover, easy to buy, and deliver on the promise you’ve made, so visitors leave with something they’ll remember and want to share.
