Scholar calls for development of sport industry

A speech given by one of the country's top sport scholars has called for China to develop the industry ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics and explore possibilities in the world's largest emerging sport market.

Yi Jiandong, a professor at Wenzhou University who leads the sport sector of the Chinese Sociological Association and played a leading role in the Beijing-Zhangjiakou 2022 Winter Olympics bid, presented his latest research on the sport industry, at Beijing's Water Cube on Sunday.

Yi said the sport industry should consider profession, enterprise, employment, and education against the backdrop of 2022 Winter Olympics, along with the aftereffects of a document issued by the State Council in 2014 directing the industry.

The document set a five-trillion-yuan target for the country's sport industry value in 2025. In 2016 the industry hit 1.9 trillion yuan, 0.9 percent of GDP, while 2.2 trillion yuan was reached in 2017, accounting for 1 percent. The tourism and culture industries accounted for 4.53 percent and 4.14 percent, respectively, of GDP in 2017.

Yi said sport could be combined with almost every industry and even develop at a faster pace because of its social potential.

At governmental level, the administrator should balance resources to invest more in sport and fitness, according to Yi. China currently invests 50 times more in medical care than in sport, while neighboring Japan boasts 10 times more exercise space per capita than China, although its population density is 2.45 times higher than China’s, said Yi.

Second, more enterprises with long-term visions are needed to realize the sport industry’s potential and make use of the country’s best technicians. China is one of the powerhouses in the sport of shooting, but it imports bullets.

In the US 20 percent of the population exercises daily, while China has not collected similar data. Sport needs to become a lifestyle before it generates more value, according to Yi.

In running a sporting event, either professionally or at grassroots level, organizers should work with more partners to identify revenue channels and provide supporting services like transportation, catering and accommodation. The Chongqing Marathon works with Sichuan Airlines to give runners a special discount when flying to participate in the run, for example.

For employers, Yi said an increase in employee fitness may help reduce medical costs.

The professor urged, at the end of his three-and-a-half hour speech, for more voices and debate in the nation's sport industry as some areas remain unexplored.