The Asian Video games was held in China’s japanese 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 big enhance in airfare and resort bookings to Hangzhou specifically.
Mintel report “Leisure Traits – 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/fashionable sports activities have turn out to be a robust driver of cultural tourism consumption. As well as, knowledge from Mintel’s “China Client Month-to-month Tracker – August 2023” exhibits that reside performances, sports activities occasions and outbound excursions have demonstrated large development potential within the general journey and leisure market.
Mintel’s senior journey and leisure analyst Shannon Liu shared her ideas on the most well-liked journey and leisure experiences in the course of the Asian Video games 2023 in Hangzhou:
Immersive “event-oriented” experiences
Conventional journey merchandise can hardly meet the wants of recent shopper teams. At the moment’s shoppers choose a composite immersive expertise. Event impact has given rise to the recognition of the identical kind of sports activities expertise actions – in the course of the China nationwide holidays, the Thousand Islands Lake journey, Fuyang kayaking and different land and water sports activities gross sales elevated sharply year-on-year.
Often called “probably the most stunning water Asian Video games venues,” Hangzhou Fuyang Aquatic Sports activities Heart attracted many vacationers who got here to see the surroundings on either side of the Fuchun River by 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 picture)
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 in recent times, based on Mintel’s G36 shopper knowledge. “Cultural tourism” has turn out to be a scorching pattern available in the market after the total liberalization of the epidemic, and journey and leisure locations which are wealthy in conventional Chinese language and native ethnic cultures are particularly well-liked among the many youthful technology. Cultural tourism manufacturers can capitalize on this chance to construct long-term and deep emotional connections with shoppers, by continuously 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 town and expertise the distinctive native Chinese language tradition.
Supply: Xinhua Information Company, picture by interviewee
Trying forward, manufacturers have the chance to create quite a lot of IP applications, resembling “journey with huge occasions”, in order that extra sports activities occasions or fashionable sports activities can turn out to be new eventualities for cultural and tourism consumption.
In response to the report “Sports activities among the many youth – China, 2023”, China’s “sports activities followers” (i.e. shoppers who’re captivated with watching sports activities occasions or chasing after superstar groups/athletes) are an viewers that deserves manufacturers’ consideration. Amongst them, girls aged 30-39 and followers of high-end sports activities resembling 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 approach to specific their persona, values and tastes. Subsequently, by co-branding/cooperating with the highest athletes of those occasions, cultural tourism manufacturers may emphasize the distinctive high quality, appeal and affect of their manufacturers.
Underneath 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 more likely to rapidly seize enterprise alternatives and market increment.
