Yesterday morning, the "Guilin International Outdoor Sports Tourism Summit Forum," one of the events of the 3rd Guilin International Landscape and Cultural Tourism Festival, kicked off. Unlike typical forums, many of the attending guests were dressed not in formal suits but in common outdoor gear such as "windbreakers." That day, over 200 outdoor sports experts, scholars, and outdoor tourism enthusiasts from around the country gathered to offer advice on the development of outdoor tourism in Guilin. Huang Shuming, Vice Chairman of the Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee, and Liu Mingyu, Vice Chairman of the Municipal CPPCC, attended to congratulate the forum.
High-end products and services remain to be developed
With the continuous growth of national income, China’s outdoor leisure tourism has seen rapid development in recent years, with activities such as self-driving tours, hiking, cycling, rock climbing, paragliding, and hot air ballooning thriving.
Expert studies show that the current participants in outdoor tourism are mainly aged between 18 and 40, with strong spending power. However, there are still limited tourism products specifically tailored for this demographic, especially high-end products and services, which are even rarer.
Therefore, the outdoor tourism market urgently needs stronger product development efforts to meet the growing number and increasing demands of outdoor enthusiasts. As a national-level comprehensive tourism reform pilot zone, Guilin has both the conditions and the necessity to make an impact in outdoor tourism development and explore a new path forward.
Looking forward to “grading” outdoor sports
“Hikers go missing,” “Hikers trapped in mountains awaiting rescue”… With the rising number of outdoor enthusiasts, incidents of “hikers” encountering danger during their trips have occurred frequently across the country in recent times.
In Guilin, the unique karst landform attracts numerous outdoor sports enthusiasts. In Yangshuo, Guilin, many domestic and international outdoor enthusiasts choose to stay long-term to enjoy the fun of cycling, rock climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. On the Yulong River in Yangshuo, up to 600,000 hikers visit every year. In Longsheng, over 50,000 tourists also explore the area via hiking each year.
In addition, Guilin boasts several well-known natural rock climbing spots, recognized nationally and even internationally. A number of heavy-duty hiking routes, such as those in Qianjiadong and Mao’ershan, have become destinations longed for by “hardcore” outdoor enthusiasts from all over the country.
Dr. Li Hongbo from the Tourism College of Huaqiao University in Fujian said that whether in Guilin or other provinces and cities, outdoor tourism routes vary in difficulty. “Novice” outdoor enthusiasts who mistakenly venture onto highly challenging routes are very likely to encounter accidents. Dr. Li suggested that, given the current limited number of professional rescue teams and the mixed quality of civilian rescue forces, the government should take the lead in “grading” local hiking routes—categorizing them based on intensity and difficulty—and providing hikers with more detailed guidance and relevant warnings to reduce outdoor tourism risks.
Guilin’s outdoor sports need government guidance
According to preliminary statistics, in recent years, Guilin has seen the emergence of numerous hiking associations, rock climbing associations, self-driving alliances, cycling clubs, as well as various weekend leisure hiking groups. Currently, the city’s hiking association has over 8,000 members, and there are hundreds of hiking clubs and outdoor activity QQ groups.
Ms. Zhang, a representative of Tencent City Elites Guilin Station, attended yesterday’s forum. She told reporters that in 2007, the station had 50,000 registered users, and by this year, the number had reached 210,000. These netizens often organize offline activities, mainly focused on outdoor tourism. “We’ve gone hiking along the Li River, trekking through the Xiang-Gui Corridor, climbed Mao’ershan and Yaoshan—we’ve pretty much covered all of Guilin’s mountains and rivers.”
Although outdoor sports tourism in Guilin is developing rapidly, it is mostly organized spontaneously by civilians, lacking government guidance, environmental safeguards, and behavioral direction. Guilin’s outdoor communities hope to receive support from the government, including more project planning and business concepts, to guide the development of outdoor sports tourism in a safer and more international direction.