The Asian Video games was held in China’s jap metropolis of Hangzhou in October this 12 months, coincided with China’s Nationwide Day that Chinese language residents loved a week-long vacation (Golden Week) for it, which positively contributing to the general enhance in vacation spending, with a major enhance in airfare and lodge bookings to Hangzhou particularly.

Mintel report “Leisure Tendencies – China, 2023” reveals that Chinese language shoppers’ rising curiosity in bodily and psychological well being and lively life has ignited the general public’s ardour for sports activities and outside recreation. On the similar time, sports activities occasions/stylish sports activities have turn into a powerful driver of cultural tourism consumption. As well as, knowledge from Mintel’s “China Shopper Month-to-month Tracker – August 2023” exhibits that stay performances, sports activities occasions and outbound excursions have demonstrated great development potential within the general journey and leisure market.

Mintel’s senior journey and leisure analyst Shannon Liu shared her ideas on the preferred journey and leisure experiences throughout the Asian Video games 2023 in Hangzhou:

Immersive “event-oriented” experiences

Conventional journey merchandise can hardly meet the wants of recent shopper teams. At present’s shoppers favor a composite immersive expertise. Match impact has given rise to the recognition of the identical kind of sports activities expertise actions – throughout the China nationwide holidays, the Thousand Islands Lake experience, Fuyang kayaking and different land and water sports activities gross sales elevated sharply year-on-year.

Generally known as “probably the most lovely water Asian Video games venues,” Hangzhou Fuyang Aquatic Sports activities Heart attracted many vacationers who got here to see the surroundings on each side of the Fuchun River by means of the lens of the sport. Guests can take a cruise on the “Dwelling within the Fuchun Mountains” to expertise the “Dwelling within the Fuchun Mountains” by Huang Gongwang.

Hangzhou Fuyang Water Sports activities Heart (Drone photograph)

Supply: Xinhua Information Company, 2023

Discover the native tradition round you

Embracing conventional tradition has been one of many key drivers of shopper conduct in China lately, based on Mintel’s G36 shopper knowledge. “Cultural tourism” has turn into a sizzling pattern available in the market after the total liberalization of the epidemic, and journey and leisure locations which might be wealthy in conventional Chinese language and native ethnic cultures are particularly in style among the many youthful era. Cultural tourism manufacturers can capitalize on this chance to construct long-term and deep emotional connections with shoppers, by continually pushing the boundaries across the native tradition and pure atmosphere.

This time, Hangzhou launched 15 basic Asian Video games-themed itineraries that included not solely venue excursions, but additionally themed routes that explored the encircling tradition and historical past, attracting many occasion spectators and vacationers to go to the town and expertise the distinctive native Chinese language tradition.

Supply: Xinhua Information Company, photograph by interviewee

Trying forward, manufacturers have the chance to create a wide range of IP applications, corresponding to “journey with large occasions”, in order that extra sports activities occasions or stylish sports activities can turn into new eventualities for cultural and tourism consumption.

In keeping with the report “Sports activities among the many youth – China, 2023”, China’s “sports activities followers” (i.e. shoppers who’re enthusiastic about watching sports activities occasions or chasing after celeb groups/athletes) are an viewers that deserves manufacturers’ consideration. Amongst them, ladies aged 30-39 and followers of high-end sports activities corresponding to tennis, motor racing and golf have a excessive willingness to spend, and they’re passionate about buying sports activities dietary meals, taking part in brand-organized advertising and marketing (e.g., meet-the-star occasions) and neighborhood actions (e.g., sports activities golf equipment), in addition to accumulating peripheral merchandise. For these “sports activities followers”, sports activities is not only a leisure exercise, but additionally a technique to categorical their character, values and tastes. Subsequently, by co-branding/cooperating with the highest athletes of those occasions, cultural tourism manufacturers can even emphasize the distinctive high quality, attraction and affect of their manufacturers.

Below the affect of the pattern of nationwide sports activities and wholesome and energetic life, offering shoppers with larger high quality, extra immersive, newer and extra diversified “tourism + sports activities/outside sports activities” fusion merchandise and types is extra prone to shortly seize enterprise alternatives and market increment.