The favorite way of travel for this generation of young people is no longer the flashy “special forces” attacking, and CityWalk has become a thing of the past.
Some people choose to ride around the city and draw the outline of the streets. Some people go to cities to run marathons like they do after concerts, burning the calories they consume by tasting local cuisine through running.
Even in the winter, which is usually considered unsuitable for outdoor sports, young people are also mobilized. Southerners choose to go skiing in the north to experience the thrill of flying in the snow. Northerners choose to hike in the mountains of the south and appreciate the greenery in the dense rainforest.
In the past, when young people traveled, they would eat, drink, and take photos of scenic spots to check in. Why are young people starting to change cities and exercise when traveling nowadays?
Dopamine, super doubled
The May Day holiday has just ended, and when I opened my friends’ circle, I saw that the young people have gone hiking again, including assault jackets, waterproof bags, hiking poles… Yes.
A few years ago, you might have thought that there was nothing unusual about climbing mountains. However, from January to October last year, the growth rate of posts related to hiking on a certain social media platform was nearly 300%, and the reading volume of “outdoor hiking” related topics was nearly 2.5 billion times. Many of them choose to invite a few friends, rent a car, stuff all their equipment into the trunk, and drive to another city for a hike.
Sports are becoming the most popular travel accessory for young people nowadays.
Among the outdoor sports that have become a fixed combination with travel, cycling is also popular. According to the cycling heat map released by CCTV, on the first day of this year’s May Day holiday, there were over 600000 cycling tracks generated nationwide, an increase of 20% compared to normal days. Short distance routes such as the Huangpu River in Shanghai, the West Lake embankment in Hangzhou, and the Chengdu Ring Road, as well as long routes such as the Hainan Island Ring Road, National Highway 318, and the Qinghai Lake Ring Road, have become the preferred destinations for cycling enthusiasts during their holidays.
While some people were riding on the road, another group of people were “squatting” to secure a spot for the marathon race. According to the “2023 China Road Running Events Blue Book” released on the official website of the Chinese Athletics Association, a total of 699 road running events will be held nationwide in 2023, with a total of over 6 million participants.
Young people have developed a new mode of transportation, which is not for sports travel, but for the integration of travel, sports, and tourism.
Those young people who “avoid heat and stay cold” and specialize in picking up niche tourist destinations have set their sights on Liuzhou. In addition to watching the “Liuzhou Cup” Water Motorcycle Open, you can also experience the fun of water sports yourself. Electric paddleboards, traditional paddleboards, kayaks, yachts, and motorboats are all available.
After the “hand to hand combat” with the river, since Luosifen lovers have come to their spiritual hometown, they must also taste boiled Luosifen, fried Luosifen, mixed Luosifen… The calories they eat are consumed through sports, focusing on a calorie balance.
When a person exercises, the body releases “pleasure hormones” such as endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine neurotransmitters, and also reduces the hormone activity of adrenaline and cortisol, thereby suppressing feelings of anxiety and tension. Every drop of sweat you shed during your journey is for happiness.
These hormones are also secreted in large quantities when people immerse themselves in beautiful scenery and enjoy delicious food. When travel encounters exercise, the ‘happiness hormone’ naturally doubles.
These pure joys have become countless healing remedies that young people reminisce about after returning to their workstations.
The experience is complex, and the means of arrival often require a combination of multiple modes of transportation. Whether it’s rainforest hiking or snow mountain skiing, the venues are often located in suburban areas far from the city center and with inconvenient public transportation. Taking public transportation such as airplanes or high-speed trains to the local area and the “last mile” to outdoor sports sites has become the biggest pain point for young people.
Fortunately, various online guides have pointed out a clear path for young people: they can directly rent a car and drive it themselves at the Yihai direct operated store at the airport or station. No need to worry about various equipment that is inconvenient to carry, compared to rushing to catch a bus all the way, it is safe and worry free.
Moreover, since everyone has come, we must fully experience the local ethnic customs. Drive all the way to see the Loong Boat Race and the market. Kongming lanterns should also be put on, and splashing water is even more necessary. Young people who have been in order for a long time feel the joy of rational madness. The emotions and pressure accumulated in my daily life have all been swept away.
The popularity of “travel+sports+tourism” cannot be separated from the convenience of transportation.
The “3-hour high-speed rail circle” has entered daily life, but during holidays, buying tickets always requires sacrificing speed. Therefore, more and more young people are choosing to travel by renting cars and driving themselves.
Data shows that the popularity of “self driving tours” increased by 39% year-on-year in 2023. The freedom and flexibility of self driving allow people to control their own pace. Anyway, the steering wheel is in your own hands, and you can also make your own decisions on the playlist. Walking and stopping according to your own mood is also a kind of happiness on the road.
On the road, activate passion
The outdoor wind is so strong that many young people who are used to lying at home during holidays have started their own attempts. Originally, it was just a superficial experience, but after returning from such a journey to recharge, it’s really hard not to get addicted.
At first, I may have just signed up for a hiking tour on a boring weekend. As the slope rises, the surrounding scenery also changes, with steep slopes, forests, rocks, and cliffs coming into view one by one. This will suddenly make people realize that there is such a three-dimensional and open world beyond their daily lives.
Gradually, they were not satisfied with the mountains around the city. They rented a car and drove to the mountains around the city, starting one hiking weekend after another. They began to gradually unlock Yunnan’s Tiger Leaping Gorge and Yubeng Village, Sichuan’s Four Girls Mountain, and Jiangxi’s Wugong Mountain, and walked further and further away.
In addition to experiencing the joy of sweating in nature, there are also young people who follow the competition to travel.
People who love marathon racing aspire to “run” all over the country. They closely monitor the event forecasts from various places, and as soon as the alarm clock rings, they immediately sign up to compete for spots.
This passion is largely due to the self-improvement gained from the competition. Running a marathon is not just about completing a 42 kilometer journey, but experiencing countless mental struggles about whether to pause or continue, persevering through the intersection of physical strength and faith.
In addition to the competition, they are also experiencing the customs and traditions of different cities.
Perhaps after running through the blooming cherry blossoms along Donghu Lake in Wuhan, driving for two hours to Yangxinxian Island Lake in Huangshi, you can experience the magnificent scenery of one of the “Three Great Thousand Island Lakes in the World”. Perhaps after running a marathon on the seaside track in Zhoushan, we will embark on a relaxing self driving tour around the island in Daqing Mountain.
After traveling after exercise, they ignited their fighting spirit to challenge themselves and began to rediscover their love for life.
For love, the whole city is filled with passion
Cities that perfectly integrate tourism and sports carry the love of countless young people. For a city, sports tourism also adds a lot of energy.
Perhaps it’s hard to imagine how significant the GDP growth brought by people gathering together for skiing, running, and running can be for the city. In the marathon city of Xiamen, last year’s marathon brought in direct revenue of 287 million yuan, including registration fees, sponsorship fees, broadcasting fees, advertising fees, and more. In addition, the influx of participants and spectators has brought about derivative income in transportation, accommodation, catering, tourism, and other areas, totaling nearly 450 million [7].
The empowerment of sports events often has a profound impact.
The Beijing Winter Olympics, which has ended two years ago, is still driving the city’s economy to this day. Yanqing District and Shijingshan District in Beijing, and Zhangjiakou City in Hebei Province, the venues of these “three major competition zones” continue to attract waves of tourists even after the Winter Olympics.
Taking Yanqing as an example, during last year’s three-month ice and snow season, over 4.4 million tourists visited. Many of them are young people working in Beijing who rent cars during holidays and take friends to go skiing and soak in hot springs in Yanqing.
The hot “ice and snow economy” has led to collective growth in the regional gross domestic product of the “three major competition areas”. The GDP of Yanqing District doubled last year compared to ten years ago.
The impact of sports tourism is not limited to first and second tier cities, but also radiates to county towns and villages that people may not have heard of before.
The village supermarket is the best example. Last year, driven by the “Village Supermarket” and “Village BA”, countless tourists flocked to small towns in Guizhou to observe a football match on site, increasing the province’s total tourism revenue by more than 40% in a year, surpassing the record before the epidemic.
The passion that young people hold back in order to pursue their passions can make a city boil with blood.
Some people originally planned to run a marathon, but when they finally had the opportunity to travel far, they couldn’t help but make a thorough plan in advance, preparing to explore the destination city in two days.
Some people go to work on Fridays, fully equipped and carrying backpacks, just to take the high-speed train to their destination as soon as the end of work time arrives, and spend a perfect weekend in nature.
Some people have been planning a dream journey since the beginning of the year in order to personally watch an NBA China game.
And on the journey of young people towards love, Yihai provides full support throughout.
