Travel: Sports helps upgrade tourism

rapidly. Toward that goal, it is partnering with Internazionale Milano, a soccer club based in Milan, Italy.

Li Qiuyan, director of brand development department of Lvmama, said sports-themed travel is also a breakthrough in the upgrade of the tourism industry.

By June, sales of insurance products bundled with sports-themed tours on Huize have risen 36 percent year-on-year. Huize is China’s largest third-party online insurance services provider. Men accounted for 79 percent of sports; the majority of them were born in the 1980s, according to industry data.

Zhang Nan, 35, a bank employee in Beijing, said he went on a cycling tour with a few friends to three Spanish islands last year, rather than go on typical sightseeing tours to the country’s major cities and scenic spots.

Their six-day cycling trip cost about 18,000 yuan each, including accommodation on a boat but excluding flight tickets between China and Spain. He flew to Barcelona first, and then transferred to Ibiza island, and went out cycling 30 kilometers per day.

“This is the first time that I took a cycling trip abroad. Our 20-member group had three coaches. It was fun. And the constant training helped me to exercise a lot. I usually sit for long hours of desk-bound work in the office and don’t have many chances to exercise. So all that cycling was refreshing and broke the tedium,” he said.

“I also helped the crew members of the boat to set sail, and got to see beautiful views of the islands and enjoyed some really tasty seafood. These are all unique and special experiences. I wouldn’t have been able to visit the picturesque islands had I trodden the beaten path to major cities like Madrid and Barcelona.”