Tourists enjoy the view at the Shenxianju scenic spot in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on May 19, 2026, the 16th China Tourism Day. Photo: VCG

With promotional activities held to mark the 16th China Tourism Day on Tuesday, local city football leagues across the country have emerged as a major catalyst boosting cultural tourism.

As the national main venue for the 2026 China Tourism Day, Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province offered free admission, discounted tickets, and special tourism promotions at more than 100 attractions on Tuesday, according to local media. 

In Northeast China, the inaugural grassroots football tournament, the Northeast China Urban Football League, is expected to serve as a bridge to promote coordinated development in the cultural tourism and sports sectors across the region, the organizers told reporters during a press conference earlier.

As the country's first inter-provincial city football league, the Northeast Super League will feature eight city teams from Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is set to kick off simultaneously on Saturday in four cities: Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin and Hohhot. 

The four provincial-level regions have jointly designed premium travel routes, featuring matchday tours in host cities, nearby leisure trips and cross-provincial travel itineraries. Running throughout Northeast China's peak cultural tourism season, the tournament aims to promote the deeper integration of sports, culture, tourism and commerce, according to the organizers. 

Inspired by the sensational success of the Jiangsu Football City League in East China's Jiangsu Province, known as the Su Super League, in 2025, many provinces have eyed raising their profiles with their own amateur football tournaments. 

During the 2025 Su Super League, A-level tourist attractions in host cities received 25.117 million visits on match days, up 17.38 percent year-on-year. Among them, visits by tourists from outside the host cities reached 14.403 million, marking a year-on-year increase of 23.22 percent, according to a WeChat account run by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. 

Liu Simin, a research fellow at the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday that people have much more free time for leisure today, so sports activities are no longer limited to their local neighborhoods. More often, people travel to nearby areas or even other cities and countries to take part in marathons, football, diving, and other sports, combining fitness with travel experiences.

The trend of traveling for sports events not only meets people's needs for exercise, but also brings them a sense of satisfaction and excitement. This trend has also made local sports competitions like the Su Super League very popular. These events give sports new social meaning and help create a sense of community, said Liu. 

Since the kickoff of the first Hubei Football City League, or Chuchao, in Central China's Hubei Province in April, search interest in host cities such as Huangshi, Yichang and Xiangyang has surged by 220 percent month-on-month. Hotel booking demand has risen significantly, with accommodations within a ­3-kilometer radius of stadiums becoming particularly sought after. Fans from neighboring provinces such as Henan, Anhui and Hunan are also traveling across cities and provinces to attend matches, driving up local lodging demand, according to travel service provider Tongcheng.

Provincial city football leagues have become more than just competitive sporting events; they are now an effective engine for boosting urban tourism consumption and activating weekend and holiday economies. The "one city, one team" home-and-away format naturally fits short-distance travel scenarios, while the emerging "match viewing + mini-vacation" model is becoming a new form of tourism consumption, said Tongcheng.

That is why local cultural and tourism departments see sports events as an important way to promote local tourism, Liu said. 

In addition, Liu noted that tourism is essentially an "attention economy." By holding large events like sports competitions, local destinations can attract more visitors, boosting both their popularity and business. Sports events do not just attract visitors, they also help tourists get to know more about the local area and its resources.

Longyan, one of the host cities of the ongoing Fujian Football City League in East China's Fujian Province, said that tourists holding a valid ticket stub, which can go as low as 9.9 yuan ($1.46), from any league match can enjoy free first-entry admission to 45 state-owned A-level tourist attractions across the city, offering an immersive experience of the city's revolutionary heritage, Hakka culture and natural landscapes.

Overall, sports events have a strong and positive impact on tourist destinations, giving many benefits to local communities and economies, Liu added.