CPPCC member pushes for the integration of sports and tourism

Xiao Yuanfu, a member of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of CPPCC, addresses a provincial meeting. [Photo/ddcpc.cn]

The integrated development of sports and tourism is an important form of cultivating new growth points and forming new momentum in the tourism industry, said Xiao Yuanfu, a member of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He made the comment at a group discussion during the fourth session of the 12th Guizhou Provincial Committee of the CPPCC.

Xiao said that Guizhou was approved as a national sports tourism demonstration zone in 2017. Since then, the province's infrastructure has been continuously improved, promoting the supply growth of sports tourism services.

The total scale of the sports industry in the province currently exceeds 20 billion yuan ($3.09 billion). The integration of sports and tourism is becoming a booster for the high-quality development of Guizhou's tourism sectors, as well as one of the important tools for poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, he added.

He offered advice for promoting the integration of sports and tourism, such as issuing integration plans, increasing the development of projects, optimizing the business environment for the growth of the sports tourism industry, and improving industrial development quality.

Xiao also suggested building characteristic towns for sports tourism featuring ethnic cultures, introducing brand events and hosting sports events. He also advised creating a series of mountain sports tourism products that take advantage of Guizhou's mountainous landscape.