Dalian chases soccer carnival goal

As sports tourism gains momentum worldwide, Chinese cities are not lagging behind, with many cities trying to become sports and competition-themed tourist destinations.

Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, is one such place, trying to position itself as a first choice destination for soccer enthusiasts.

"Sports tourism has become a new engine to drive high-quality development in the tourism sector, shape the city's image, and boost the local economy," said Shan Meina, head of the Dalian Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

"This year, our focus is on the 30 home games of Dalian Yingbo Football Club and Dalian K'un City Football Club in the Chinese Super League and China League One, alongside the booming grassroots soccer matches, all aimed at nurturing the 'Dalian soccer carnival' brand," she said.

On March 29, Dalian Yingbo team's first home game in the new CSL season attracted 60,126 spectators, the second-highest in the league's history.

Before the match, the Dalian soccer Carnival's inauguration took place right outside the Dalian Suoyuwan Football Stadium, the only professional soccer stadium in China surrounded by the sea on three sides.

During the event, six themed areas came up around the stadium, offering a variety of activities for fans and tourists, including interactions with commentators, buying mementos sold at the thematic market, watching street performances, having interactive experiences, and shopping at a nearby commercial complex.

Additionally, the outdoor plaza featured live band performances and a fan photo area, while local businesses offered discounts for dining, shopping, accommodation, and other consumer services.

"We aim to showcase the beauty, cuisine, and hospitality of this beautiful coastal city through soccer fans and tourists engaging in soccer festivities," Shan said.

The activities, guided by the city's publicity department and jointly launched by the city's bureaus of culture and tourism, commerce, and sports, seek to leverage Dalian's identity as a "soccer city" to promote the integrated development of culture, sports, tourism, and commerce.

Over the next two years, Dalian plans to develop diverse themed consumption sections to build the "Dalian soccer carnival" brand.

This will entail the creation of soccer and marine-themed cultural and creative products, offering fans and tourists a dynamic soccer experience and pre — and post-match consumer activities at any time and location.

"We will also introduce a series of special routes, offer comprehensive fan packages integrating accommodation, dining, transportation, shopping, and entertainment, and provide a range of preferential measures and heartwarming services to attract more visitors to Dalian to watch matches, enjoy the scenery, and savor the cuisine," Shan said.

Dalian boasts a rich soccer heritage, with a robust soccer culture and top-tier soccer infrastructure.

In the 2024 professional league games, including the Chinese Super League, China League One, and China League Two, 142 players, accounting for 9.4 percent of the national total, either came from Dalian or were trained in Dalian's youth development system.

In 2024, Dalian hosted four international-level and 25 national-level soccer events, drawing over 18,000 participants from home and abroad, while spectators exceeded 800,000.

Particularly, the International School Football World Cup organized by the International School Sport Federation brought together 55 teams and over 1,000 young soccer players from 33 countries and regions to Dalian.

In March, the General Administration of Sport unveiled a list of 30 pilot cities to promote sports consumption and event economy, with Dalian being among them.

The administration underscored the importance of enriching product offerings and enhancing service levels to meet the diverse consumption needs of the populace.

According to the city's bureau of sports, Dalian's sports industry has made remarkable progress, since being named one of the first national pilot cities for sports consumption in 2020.

In 2022, the total scale of the sports industry in Dalian reached 508.5 billion yuan ($69.5 billion), with an added value of 174.9 billion yuan, accounting for 2.07 percent of the GDP of the city.

Chen Yilin, a professor of tourism economics at Beijing Sport University's Alberta International School of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, emphasized the importance of integrating sports and tourism to meet the evolving demands of sports and tourism enthusiasts, transforming sporting events into economic catalysts.

He underscored the direct and indirect role of sports events in stimulating urban economic development with a multiplier effect.

Large-scale events necessitate coordination among various departments, with government policy drive and promotion being pivotal for their success.

"Sports events are often short-lived, but the professional conduct on the field and the warm local services can leave a lasting impression on visitors, enhancing the city's reputation," Chen said.

He suggested that each city should accentuate its unique characteristics to avoid being generic, focusing on regional features, distinctive local flavor, historical and cultural heritage, local cuisine, natural landscapes, and other resources.

By integrating regional resources with sports events, cities can offer visitors a unique sense of participation and experience.

"To establish a city's event brand, efforts should be made to make events regular, establish fixed festivals and customs, making it easier for visitors to plan their itineraries," Chen recommended.

In Rongjiang county of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Guizhou province, the "Village Super League", or cunchao in Chinese, has gained immense popularity since its inception in May 2023.

The influx brought by cunchao has vitalized Rongjiang, unleashing vibrant energy.

Xu Bo, the county's Party chief, revealed at a provincial cultural tourism industry investment promotion meet on April 11 that in 2024, Rongjiang added 6,761 new market entities, with comprehensive tourism income reaching 10.8 billion yuan, hosting 9.46 million tourists.

In Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, the massive influx of people during the Chengdu International Table Tennis Federation Mixed Team World Cup, in December, gave the local economy a substantial boost. Fans from across the country flocked to Chengdu not only to witness the games but also to partake in various activities.

Data released by the ITTF show that only 23.4 percent of ticket buyers for this event were from Chengdu, with the rest coming from outside the city, driving a total consumption of 380 million yuan. The event also boosted the total revenue of over 200 businesses around the venue by approximately 48 million yuan, with an average increase of 220 percent.

Seizing the opportunity of hosting the 9th Asian Winter Games in 2025, Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, focused on a series of winter sport events, connecting competition venues, ice and snow events, and ice and snow scenic areas to create 10 exquisite themed tourism routes for "traveling with sports events".

The "Harbin ice and snow tourism development report (2025)" outlined Harbin's ambition to become the top choice for ice and snow tourism in China and an international ice and snow tourism destination.

The report highlighted that Chinese ice and snow tourism is entering a new stage of globalization. Harbin aims to enhance international exchanges and cooperation in ice and snow tourism.