Wanning publishes ‘two articles’ to promote high-quality development of sports tourism

China News Service, Haikou, September 7 (Zhang Qianyi Wang Yuli) Converting tourist "traffic" into industry "increment" and converting current "heat" into long-term "word-of-mouth" - these are the "two articles" set by Wanning City, Hainan Province for the sports tourism industry in the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan".

On the 7th, Hainan's "Starting from the 15th Five-Year Plan" series of theme press conferences - building an important node city in eastern Hainan and striving to write a new chapter in Wanning was held. Cai Weiwei, director of Wanning Municipal Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports Bureau, said that Wanning anchors the city construction goal of an important node in Hainan's coastal urban belt and promotes high-quality development of sports tourism from four aspects.

On March 7, the 2026 National Artificial Surfing Pool Open kicked off at the CTS Zhulang Resort in Wanning City, Hainan Province. The picture shows players participating in the men's shortboard event during the competition. Photo by China News Service reporter Luo Yunfei

Strengthening the entire surfing industry chain is the primary focus. According to reports, Wanning will rely on Riyue Bay and the Olympic-level super artificial wave pool to promote the upgrade of surfing from a half-year seasonal business to a year-round all-weather industry; at the same time, with the help of the Hainan Free Trade Port policy, it will support the development of local surfing equipment brands, build a surfing equipment R&D and manufacturing base, expand coach certification, research and training, international events and other diversified business formats, and build an industrial closed loop of "equipment manufacturing - professional training - international events - scene consumption".

Cai Weiwei said that Wanning will also deepen cooperation with WSL (World Surf League) and ISA (International Surfing Association) to attract more top international events and develop popular products such as surfing exams and youth summer camps; rely on ISA training courses to build an "international certification + local incubation" talent cultivation system, accurately introduce high-end talents in the industry, and focus on cultivating young people from local fishing villages to become surfing coaches and event service personnel.

Secondly, deepen the integration of "sports +" and promote the transformation from "single check-in" to "global consumption". During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Manning will implement the integrated development model of "events + tourism + business + culture", continue to successfully organize special events such as surfing, and launch joint tickets for scenic spots and cultural and creative souvenirs through government-enterprise collaboration to amplify the economic effects of events; promote the upgrade of Wangfujing International Duty-free Port into a tourism consumption complex, strengthen the duty-free sporting goods area, and create a consumption scenario of "buying global goodies and playing world-class surfing".

While upgrading the consumption scene, Mannings will also rely on the endowment of mountain and sea resources to connect Shanqin Bay, Shimei Bay, Shenzhou Peninsula, and Xinglong Overseas Chinese Hometown, and launch composite products such as "Surfing + Rainforest Hiking" and "Surfing + Coffee Manor" to achieve "Bay Area Diversion - Rural Diversion - Global Visitor Retention" to drive rural revitalization.

In terms of tourism product supply, Cai Weiwei said that Wanning will improve the national sports tourism product matrix. While ensuring the training of professional teams, it will develop mass experience projects for all ages, promote surfing studies and team building in rural areas, and extend the length of stay of tourists. It will also rely on the round-the-island tourist highway to improve cycling, self-driving, and camping facilities, and create a three-dimensional system for coastal sightseeing, rainforest exploration, and rural leisure. (over)