Guizhou province is dedicated to becoming a national demonstration zone for sports tourism.

Zhao Yong, deputy director-general of the General Administration of Sports of China, also expressed their support for Guizhou during the opening ceremony of the 2017 International Conference of Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports on Aug 16.

The mountainous province boasts rich mountains and hills, accounting for 92.5 percent of the province's total land area. Forests, valleys and karst caves are also scattered across the vast province.

Apart from advantageous geological conditions, the climate is pleasant with around 300 to 330 days of a year suitable for outdoor sports activities.

Cities in Guizhou province have held many sporting events to promote the tourism brand. The capital city of Guiyang has held international cross country championships and summer marathons for consecutive years.

Renowned "cool capital" Liupanshui hosts marathons in summer and skiing festivals in winter, providing platforms to increase the city's prestige. The Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture has also held the international conference of mountain tourism and outdoor sports for three consecutive years.

Through these international sports events, Guizhou has taken a big step forward to become a globally popular mountain tourism destination and help the province to build itself into a national demonstration zone for sports tourism.

In the first half of 2017, Guizhou received 15.8 percent more overseas tourists than last year, reaping 40.1 percent more revenues through mountain tourism and outdoor sports. The catering and retail industries have also increased their added value by 11 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.

"The strategy of developing mountain-featured sports tourism in Guizhou meets the province's requirements for promoting sports and the local economy as well," said Zhang Yuguang, director-general of the Guizhou Sports Administration.

Tourists hike in an ecological sport park in Zhenfeng county, Guizhou province. [Photo/gzgov.gov.cn]

The province plans to build 100 ecological sports parks by 2020 to further create environments for sports tourism. Authorities will make efforts to integrate sports with tourism, ecological construction, poverty alleviation and the big data industry to form a practicable model for boosting economic growth and achieving sustainable development.