Young generation laps up sports tourism

SPORTS toruism is becoming popular especially among the younger generation after a recent survey showed 79.3 percent of Chinese respondents have taken part in it.

Conducted by China Youth Daily, the survey polled 2,004 people born between 1960s and 2000s, among which 51 percent were born in the 1980s.

The respondents said hiking (51.2 percent), mountain climbing (51 percent) and cycling (41.1 percent) were their favorite sports. Other sports including rafting (20.7 percent), skiing (16.6 percent), rock climbing (16.2 percent) and ice-skating (13.6 percent) were also mentioned.

In December 2016, China’s tourism and sports administrations jointly issued guidelines to develop sports tourism, with 100 sports-themed tourist destinations and 100 quality events to be set up by 2020.

“The government’s attention to the sports industry and the ‘Healthy China 2030’ scheme initiated in 2016 have raised people’s awareness of sports and health,” said Lu Changbao, vice dean of the economy and management college at Fuzhou University.

“From an individual perspective, with their living standards improving, Chinese increasingly recognize the importance of health. As a fun way of improving their health, sports tourism is a good choice for them,” Lu added.

Data showed that diving is growing in island tourism. Marathons are thriving across the country, attracting millions of runners to different host cities.

Some niche sports like parachuting, rock climbing, and surfing are also becoming popular.