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From skiing to ballooning, China eyes sports tourism as next growth sector

BEIJING — As China looks for new engines of growth in a slowing economy, it has set its sights on what it calls “sports tourism”, hoping to generate billions more dollars from ski slopes, football competitions, bike trails and even yacht clubs.

BEIJING — As China looks for new engines of growth in a slowing economy, it has set its sights on what it calls “sports tourism”, hoping to generate billions more dollars from ski slopes, football competitions, bike trails and even yacht clubs.

In a document issued recently, the country rolled out specific targets for sports tourism, which Beijing defines as events and facilities where people watch or participate in sporting events or activities.

By 2020, the country wants to generate a total of one billion domestic and foreign “tourist visits” annually by forming 100 large companies focused on the sector. The companies, in turn, would create 100 new sporting events; 100 “health-promoting” facilities such as hiking, jogging and cycling trails; and 100 undefined “demonstration tourist bases”.

Sports tourism brought in 207 billion yuan (S$43.1 billion) in 2015 out of total tourism revenues of 4.13 trillion yuan, according to official data.

Beijing wants tourism revenue to reach 7 trillion yuan a year by 2020, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The new goals were stated in a document jointly issued by the China National Tourism Administration and the General Administration of Sports of China. They come on the heels of a string of guidelines announced last month by the State Council, China’s Cabinet, which even set detailed targets for mountain climbing, water skiing and skydiving.

The targets — at times quite specific — include building 2,000 camps for air sports activities such as skydiving and ballooning; 1,000 water sports clubs; and 500km of hiking trails along the Taihang Mountains by 2020. The goal is to make mountain outdoor sports a 400 billion yuan industry, with water sports at 300 billion and air sports at 200 billion.

Sports tourism has been the fastest-growing segment in China’s economy, largely due to rising affluence and health consciousness, according to a Citi Research report released in October.

There has also been a shift in the nature of consumer spending, away from what has come to be called “emulative spending”, often characterised by the desire to outdo one’s neighbours in consumption.

“Chinese residents have moved from waves of emulative spending to more individualised, diverse and high-quality consumption” in sectors as diverse as tourism, sports and healthcare, said Mr Cong Liang, the director of the national economy department of the NDRC, China’s top economic planning body, in November.

Most of China’s domestic sports tourists are people in their 30s and 40s, and 80 per cent of them are men, according to a 2016 report by Lvmama.com, one of the largest travel platforms in China. The most active participants are in the cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Dalian.

CIConsulting predicts an annual growth of 30 to 40 per cent for China’s sports tourism market, much higher than its forecast of the global increase in this sector at 14 per cent. Much of its confidence comes from detailed favourable policies from the Chinese government.

And a big component of that is expected to be skiing, one of China’s priorities due to the country’s upcoming hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Beijing’s goal is to get 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports by building 1,450 skating rinks and ski areas, and generating a projected 600 billion yuan by 2022.

Offering free skiing days in dozens of ski resorts in snow-rich Jilin province is part of the promotion plan.

Beidahu Ski Resort is one of the largest Chinese ski resorts and is in Jilin City, in Jilin province. Mr Zhang Wenzhuo, the company’s sales manager, said the resort has been ordered by the government to provide free admission two or three days every month.

Every visitor on that day can have free access to a set of ski gear, three hours to ski, two hours of sledding, and a cable-car ride to a scenic spot on the top of the mountain.

“This is quite popular — an average of 1,000 to 1,500 people participate in each free skiing day,” he added.

Currently, 2,000 to 3,000 foreign travellers spend their vacations in Beidahu every year, but Mr Zhang is expecting more growth after a government document predicted 150 million overseas visitors by 2020.

It is all part of China’s efforts to shift its economy towards consumption and services instead of exports and investment. Consumer spending accounted for 52.8 per cent of China’s gross domestic product for the first three quarters of 2016.

“China has entered the era of mass tourism,” said Zhang Xilong, vice-director of China National Tourism Administration’s planning and financial department, in November. CAIXIN

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