Kaiyang advances integration of sports and tourism

A promotion meeting for the construction of Guizhou province's sports tourism demonstration zone was held in Kaiyang county of Guiyang, the capital city of Southwest China's Guizhou province, on April 26-27.

More than 160 participants visited Nanjiang grand canyon ecological sports park and other tourist spots in the county. The Houer Tiankeng extreme play park was listed as one of China's top 10 sports tourism scenic spots in 2020.

In recent years, Kaiyang has positioned the tourism sector as one of the county's leading industries and has been actively enriching its tourism market. In 2020, it received 15.08 million visits and achieved tourism revenue of 9.27 billion yuan ($1.43 billion), despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The county continues to improve infrastructure and optimize sports and tourism services. It has built 70 kilometers of green fitness trails and one ecological sports park. All 136 administrative villages are equipped with sports and fitness facilities, and two urban sports and tourism demonstration bases are under construction.

Integrating advice from tourism experts and scholars from Guizhou University, Kiayang county launched a sports tourism development plan to help build a sports tourism cluster in the county. The plan offers guidance on supporting facilities, marketing and other aspects.

It will further promote the integration of sports and tourism based on Kaiyang's advantageous resources, enhancing the quality of the sports tourism sector, said Ou Bo, deputy head of the county.