How should the water sports industry really be approached? First-tier experts share practical insights at the ISPO forum
On July 7, the ISPO Academy Water Sports Industry Forum was successfully held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. Since beginning to focus on the development of water sports categories in 2013, the ISPO Shanghai event has treated the water sports segment as a key component. In 2015, it pioneered the most professional and largest-scale commercial exhibition of water sports in China, covering stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, surfing, fishing, and related water equipment products. It brought together domestic and international water sports brands, rallied water sports enthusiasts, and integrated with multiple outdoor categories to spark new ideas and usher in a new lifestyle of sports.
In 2017, the ISPO Academy entered into an exclusive partnership with the China Canoeing Association to launch various forms of water sports exhibition platforms and opened a dedicated professional forum, creating an interactive platform for experts, scholars, industry managers, upstream manufacturers, and clubs in the waterfront sports industry.
Based on selected speeches from the forum, Juniu compiled industry insights articles for reference. We have chosen projects such as canoeing, surfing, sailing, and kayaking to interpret how the water sports industry can really be approached.
Canoeing: The Perfect Integration with Sports Tourism
Tang Di – Founder of Zhouyou Lieguo Club
“I got into canoeing when I was studying in Hong Kong. My first time paddling instantly made me fall in love with the sport, and later, driven by this passionate interest, I entered the industry. Our club was established in 2014, with the slogan: ‘Between mountains and rivers, over lakes and seas, with dreams in our hearts, we cruise the lands.’
It’s very difficult to find a very large body of water as a fixed activity area for us, so we’ve always adapted to local conditions, designing unique courses based on the environment for teaching. This March, because the weather was still quite cold and business wasn’t great, I thought, why not hold a class at the Qiongzhou Strait? And it actually worked—we took nine club members across the Qiongzhou Strait, and it even made the news. One netizen commented: ‘If safety can be ensured, this might be the most fun outdoor competitive sport in China.’ From that comment, you can see three messages: first, ‘if safety can be ensured’—how can we ensure safety? First, personal skills must meet the requirements, then there must be a strong support team, technical guidance, and the right timing, location, and people. Why ‘the most fun in China’? Because everyone knows that China’s rivers, lakes, and seas aren’t very suitable for water sports like sailing, but canoeing fits perfectly—we have beautiful landscapes. Why is it also a ‘competitive sport’? Because paddling requires corresponding skills.”
Given the high skill requirement, we developed relevant courses. I summarized the Hong Kong canoeing curriculum, cut out all the non-essential parts, and created a beginner course suitable for ordinary people—something you can do after a tiring day of work. The second week focuses on journey equipment; the third week teaches sea paddling techniques, because paddling at sea is very different from paddling on lakes; the fourth week involves ocean training. Our students are very engaged with us—if they can’t make it the second week, they can come next time. In Shenzhen, there are only two weeks of winter each year, and every other weekend is a paddling day.”
Our courses are all interconnected—if you haven’t taken the equipment journey course, it’s quite difficult to go camping by canoe. If that happens, I won’t let them go—not because I don’t want to earn the money, but because they lack the skills, which poses a safety issue and would also result in a poor experience. So I’d advise them to take the basic technique course first, and once they’ve learned sea paddling skills, they can go out to sea. For going out to sea, we go to Lighthouse Island in Shanwei. By the fourth week, if their skills are good enough, they can try more routes, like crossing the Qiongzhou Strait or canoeing through sea caves in Hong Kong.”
Surfing: Current Development Status and Future Industry Trends in China
Li Hao – Brand Director of Extreme Sports Video Platform REnextop
“Let me briefly talk about the current state of surfing. First, an important thing is that surfing has been included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Currently, the global surfing market has exceeded $1 billion, with over 35 million participants.
Oxford University conducted a survey showing that high-quality surfing economies generate $50 billion in economic activity globally each year. Surfing isn’t just about selling surfboards—it’s about selling the whole experience. Each good surfing city generates around $20 million in economic income annually. Japan now has 40 cities hoping to become training bases for the Tokyo Olympic surfing team because they know surfing can significantly boost regional economies.
What industries can commercial surfing involve? I know many luxury brands, car brands, watch brands, beverage brands, clothing brands, sunglasses brands, and cosmetics brands have collaborated with surfing because surfing champions aren’t ‘unsophisticated’—surfers have very high standards for their lives, though not necessarily material ones—they know what they want.
I think what China needs to do next is deeply understand and learn the surfing culture. What’s the biggest change surfing has brought me? Reverence for nature and self-affirmation. When you’re out at sea, you realize nature is alive, and it’s not something anyone can just dive into and control. We enjoy the rhythm of the sea and become one with nature.
Can you surf in China? Of course—you can in Sanya, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Fujian, Xiamen, and even Zhoushan near Shanghai. We’re preparing to have our surfers map out China’s surfing spots. Because surfing has entered the Olympics, in March this year, the country formed its first national surfing team. These surfers aren’t from the state system but earned their spots through interest and persistent effort.”
Sailing: The Sailing Lifestyle Is About to Go Mainstream!
Li Yunfei – CFO of Easy Sailing School
“Playing with stand-up paddleboards or kayaks involves dealing with waves, but sailing is about dealing with the wind. I’ve been in the sailing industry for 10 years—during that time, I’ve worked in shipyards and attended sailing training, so I have some insights into management, production, sales, etc. I’ll share with you some opportunities sailing might bring.
We’ve been in the sailing industry for so long that we can feel the trends in the broader environment—the sailing era has arrived. This is mainly reflected in four aspects:
First is the trend of social development. China’s economy has developed to this point where the consumer sector has been largely saturated—including cars, which will exceed 290 million units in ownership in another two years, surpassing the U.S. You can imagine that the speed at which people will own water-related products, including sailboats, may be faster than we think. Looking at the supply of social goods, the only area not yet fully penetrated is water sports.
In developed Western countries, there is an average of one boat per 170 people, and in the U.S., there’s even one boat per four people—you can imagine how huge our market potential is. Data shows that as of last year, China had 300 boat manufacturing companies, 20,000 boat berths, and 200 professional water sports clubs. Under government policy guidance, these clubs have held nearly 100 sailing races, which have had a very obvious driving effect on the industry. They’ve driven government willingness, enterprise, market, and brand promotion, cultivated many sailing enthusiasts, boosted boat sales, and encouraged many clubs interested in the industry to enter the market.
Second is the need for consumption upgrading. In 2017, the Hurun Wealth Report conducted a survey on the top three outdoor activities high-net-worth individuals wanted to engage in. Equestrianism ranked first, accounting for 16% of the total, surfing second at 13.5%, and sailing third at 13.1%.
Third is that sailing has inherent advantages—because the equipment is first and foremost a sporting tool that requires manual operation. Sailing involves continuously learning how to steer, how to launch, and how to dock. Larger sailboats also have a social aspect—when there are more people involved, interaction becomes necessary.
When engaging in water sports, we need to assess whether we can introduce a project and how to do so based on our own circumstances. The first factor is our market clientele. I’m not sure if those of you in kayaking have noticed this, but sailing tourism is a high-revenue segment for many sailing clubs. Assuming you have boats of the same model and a certain quantity, they can serve as a medium for corporate team-building. Youth summer and winter camps are also a very popular trend now, with many clubs promoting aquatic youth camps.
The second factor depends on the water area’s size, depth, wind conditions, and water regulations. We choose moderately priced products suitable for profit-making based on the characteristics of the water, while also considering how to maximize earnings.
The third factor is, if we’re doing sailing, what qualifications are needed for endorsement? About 70% of our clients want to improve their skills—in China, certifications are unavoidable. Many people grow up surrounded by exams and certificates. Does your instructor have national or international qualifications? As far as I know, kayaking has American Canoe Association (ACA) certifications, as well as certifications from the Hong Kong Canoeing Association, while sailing has American Sailing Association (ASA) certifications and Royal Yachting Association (RYA) certifications.
Lastly, every club faces operational and management challenges. We should not adopt an extensive management approach. Even if running a very small club, standardized management is still essential.
Kayaking: A Promising Industry Outlook
Liang Qiang – Chief Professor at Tianjin University of Finance and Economics & Boguan Zhiyuan Think Tank
“In terms of trends, we believe the kayaking market in 2017 had four characteristics: First, continuous policy support points to a promising industry outlook; second, consumption upgrades have driven a surge in participant demand; third, industry layout has accelerated, but no true leader has yet emerged; fourth, integration across multiple channels is fostering collaborative development—this may be the common aspiration. Against this backdrop, we expect the policy dividends to continue into 2018, so the industry will sustain significant growth.
Additionally, I believe ‘kayaking+’ will become an industry trend, integrating and interacting with land-based activities, aerial sports, other scenic spots, and outdoor ventures. Regardless of the trend, the goal is to offer more of the sports scenarios that consumers desire. So, envisioning all these activities as experiential settings makes it much easier to understand. As people’s time becomes increasingly limited, you’ll find that future sports offerings will either save time or help people spend more quality time on enjoyable activities. Therefore, how to create new outdoor sports scenes for kayaking may become the breakthrough point for innovating gameplay and technology. In the end, I believe cooperation, sharing, and mutual benefit should become the industry consensus.”
In addition, heavyweight guests such as Li Xin, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Canoeing Association; Deng Ji, President of the China Canoeing Industry Association; Mao Zi, Vice Chairman of the China Sports Science and Technology Innovation Industry Alliance & Chairman of Wanzhi Sports; Yu Li, Founder of Shanghai Zhixiang Sports Planning Co., Ltd.; Zhou Zhenghao, Founder of Shanghai Jishui Canoeing Club; Xu Yaping, World Champion & Head of the Aquatic Sports Center at Zhejiang University; and Yang Tong, Founder of the Tianjin Haihe Canoeing Club & Deputy Director of the Committee of the China Canoeing Industry Association, delivered excellent speeches at the forum. These insightful presentations will be compiled and shared with everyone by HowToTrip Outdoor Sports Managers in the near future.