• The success of the event shows how the integration of sports and tourism is a winning business model

HAIKOU, China, Nov. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — On November 27, the 2022 Hainan Beach Sports Carnival came to a successful conclusion in the town of Wanning. This year, the event, which contained an exciting mix of sports tourism, culture, music, and entertainment, drew on what Hainan does best: the sun, the sand, and the sea, plus the rich mix of beach sports and coastal tourism resources available in the island’s cities and towns. The offerings included a diverse mix of sports and tourism options that were created by integrating and optimizing the island’s beach sports portfolio, in combination with local resources specialized in sports, local culture, technology, education, and tourism, creating a new sports + tourism model that adds further vitality to the elements that have been drawing visitors to the island for decades.

The island’s beaches serve as a platform from which to capitalize on the integration of sports and tourism

Hainan boasts rich beach resources, with 68 bays and over 1,944.35 kilometers of some of the world’s most alluring and diverse coastline, providing an unbeatable foundation from which to promote beach sports and the integration of sports and tourism as the business model.

What is unique about the Carnival is that it is China’s only beach sports event with the participation of multiple cities and the iconic IP of the island as part of its sports and tourism integration strategy.

Five towns along Hainan’s colorful coastline stand out for their identification with beach sports

The 2022 Hainan Beach Sports Carnival traveled to five cities and towns between November 11 and November 27: Haikou, Sanya, Danzhou, Wanning, and Wenchang, each with a distinctive theme that gave participants, residents, and tourists the opportunity to partake in the thrill of beach sports.

Wenchang
Themed Heat Wave Beach Volleyball, the beachfront community launched a series of activities, including the 2022 Hainan Wenchang National Women’s Beach Volleyball Invitational Tournament, Six-Person Beach Volleyball Tournament, Beach Rugby Invitational Tournament, “Child Stars Hit the Earth” Music Party and Space Dream Beach Volleyball Park, in an initiative to transform the city into a national production and sales hub for volleyball sports and tourism offerings, as well as a promotion platform for Hainan’s volleyball culture.

Haikou
The city, which is also the capital of the province, hosted the Haikou Beach Football Tournament, Beach Beer Party, and the interactive activities of Weilan Football World. Themed Vibrant Beach Football, the series of activities gives tourists and locals an opportunity to participate in the excitement of the sport. By choosing and focusing on such a popular activity, the city expects the effort to add to the allure of Hainan as a destination of choice for travellers, while also expanding the city’s sports industry chain.

Sanya

In an effort to establish this town as a beach leisure sports and tourism destination for athletes, tourists, and locals who will be drawn to the distinctiveness of Sanya’s tourism culture, the city hosted the Asian Beach Games, a series of events that are representative of the various beach-related activities that are available at the seaside resort. Further highlighting the draw of this town, already synonymous with “sun, sand and sea” for anyone residing or having travelled in Asia, is the availability of fitness-oriented sports, fun things to do for a family on vacation and a host of other tourism offerings.

Danzhou

The town has created the Beach and Sea-crossing Heroes project around the theme of beach running and sea swimming, making full use of the unique coastal landscape and beach resources of Ocean Flower Island to create two events, the Beach Sports Fun Carnival, and the Sea Swim, to support its integrated development as well as that of neighboring Yangpu. Danzhou’s municipal government expects that the project will transform the town, and by extension, the whole of Hainan, into a destination of choice for holiday travel, beach sports, and leisure.

Wanning

The 2022 Hainan Wanning X-LOONGROAD Beach Obstacle Course and the X-LOONGROAD Beach Music Party were launched by the seaside community as part of the 2022 Hainan Beach Sports Carnival Wanning Beach E-Games to promote what the town has coined Beach Extreme, intending to create an outdoor extreme sports experience platform and a popular gathering place for outdoor sports enthusiasts.

Looking ahead, Hainan plans to continue adding to the number of sports options as different business models for staging sports events are explored and integrated into the “product lineup”. The plan includes the introduction of more high-end sports, as well as activities that align with the national beach fitness movement, with the ultimate goal of achieving a successful integration of Hainan’s sports and tourism industries.