Editor's Note: On November 11, the International Conference of Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports (MTOS) 2025 commenced in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province. With the continued theme "Integration of Culture, Tourism and Sports Presents a High Quality Life," this year's Conference featured a series of events including the International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA) Annual Conference 2025, the International Mountain Tourism Promotion Conference 2025, a Field Trip to Guizhou Mountain Tourism Destinations, and the Bank of Guizhou·Mountain Culture, Tourism and Outdoor Sport Equipment Exhibition. Over 350 participants gathered, including representatives from international organizations, government and tourism departments of relevant countries, diplomatic missions in China, tourism-related enterprises, mountain tourism destination management agencies, experts, scholars, and media from more than 30 countries and regions. They explored new pathways for the integrated development of "Mountain Tourism +", shared new achievements in mountain tourism development, and worked together to build a prosperous new future for mountain tourism. Chen Gang, Founder and CEO of Mafengwo, made a presentation at the 2025 International Mountain Tourism Promotion Conference.

The following is the full text of the presentation:

Ushering in the Golden Era of Mountain Tourism, Dear leaders and industry colleagues, good afternoon!

Today, I'd like to discuss the golden era of China's mountain tourism. As a platform with over a decade of experience in the tourism sector, Mafengwo has consistently focused on two priorities: understanding changes in user needs and driving product upgrading on the supply side. Currently, mountain tourism represents the convergence of these priorities—not just as a trend of consumer interests, but as a key sector blending culture, sports, and tourism. Next, I will share insights based on industry trends and my experience.

Part 1 Momentum of Sports-Tourism Integration

First, let's examine some outdoor sports data from Mafengwo.

Post-2020 saw China's outdoor tourism market surge, with 2020-2022 serving as an introductory phase. Travel restrictions shifted people's focus to outdoor sports, primarily among young male travelers. Since 2023, subtle shifts have emerged as outdoor sports have gained popularity among women and become a lifestyle they proudly showcase. Women's spending power in this domain is notably higher. Demographically, outdoor sports are growing among middle-aged and elderly groups, such as families and retirees. This trend is mirrored in Arc'teryx's explosive popularity.

This gender and age diversification reflects outdoor sports' transition from a young male-dominated niche to a new, diversified consumption field.

Before 2019, international travel focused on urban sightseeing, such as posing at landmarks for social media posts. After 2023, tourists increasingly sought authentic outdoor experiences abroad and documented their adventures through short videos. Hiking, diving, cycling, and skiing form the core activities, and there are various other activities. The soaring demand for international marathon entries reflects people's appreciation for outdoor sports.

Meanwhile, mountain outdoor sports have developed many innovative experiences. We have observed patterns like scene-based adaptations—simply relocating coffee breaks creates cliffside coffee, cave coffee, and paddleboard coffee. Activities are tailored for different consumer groups. Beginners enjoy frisbee, rainbow run, and zero-effort rafting, while seasoned adventurers pursue trail running and lure fishing. The outdoors inherently fosters social connections. Through markets, paddleboard yoga, and outdoor murder mystery games, even less athletic participants can join the fun. Cultural elements, including forest therapy, treasure hunts, meditation, and heritage expeditions, are increasingly incorporated.

Overall, supply chains now cater to personalized demand rather than focusing on more professional and difficult activities.

This presents prime opportunities for Guizhou, the "Mountain Park", where innovative outdoor experiences continually emerge. We began exploring these experiences in 2022 and enhanced their influence through social media. Now, tourists from other provinces are impressed not only by Guizhou's ethnic groups, cuisine, and scenic beauty but also by diverse outdoor activities.

The upcoming AI era will enable highly personalized tourism experiences, making these diverse activities a perfect match for AI integration. Mafengwo's AI capabilities will prove invaluable. Take our AI-powered itinerary customization as an example. It incorporates various innovative experiences, seamlessly blending mountain outdoor activities into travel plans while precisely meeting user preferences.

Part 2 Industrial Applications

Having discussed these trends, I would like to share a new mountain tourism model I helped develop. The flagship example is Guiyang's Shilong Cave.

Featured on the cover of Chinese National Geography as the "Underground Huanglong", Shilong Cave also earned a spot among the top 100 global tourist destinations in the Global Tourist Destinations prepared by China Tourism Academy. The cave's formations represent the pinnacle of China's karst caves. Let me show you a video to appreciate its wonders.

Naturally, such an exceptional mountain tourism project has remained largely undiscovered, with only a handful of outdoor enthusiasts having experienced it. This obscurity stems from multiple factors, including remote location, complicated ownership, and lack of professional development. It wasn't until our discovery in 2023 that we pioneered an innovative development model—a joint venture established by the platform, government, and professional operator. Our platform primarily contributed funding while also providing branding, traffic support, systems, and equipment. The local government provided resources, including development authorization, infrastructure support, and community relations. The professional operator is the outdoor management team responsible for daily operations and maintenance, safety management, and tourist services. Each party fulfilled its specialized role in this joint venture.

During development, our top priority was to ensure safety—qualified personnel, proper equipment, and diverse offerings. The four-hour caving adventure includes paddleboarding, river trekking, waterfall climbing, snorkeling, travel photography, meditation, and cave coffee tasting. With a ticket price of RMB 1,280, this caving experience ranks among the highest-priced nationwide—yet remains sold out throughout summer, proving its exceptional market value.

Given the remote location, we leveraged our small-group transport service to streamline travel and provide premium experiences. This effectively transforms scattered gems like Shilong Cave into a cohesive itinerary that boosts user spending.

Our user demographics show over 60% are young women, with significant participation of families that seek both education and entertainment. Seventy percent of tourists are from first-tier and new first-tier cities and have strong consumption capacity. They seek unique experiences when traveling to Guizhou during family outings.

Developing such a premium project is difficult. Our digital systems handled complex operations such as order management, guide dispatch, distribution, and settlements, with triple the efficiency of traditional models using minimal staff.

Additionally, we employ 87 outdoor guides, predominantly recruited from local villages. These guides have undergone professional training and earned certifications from accredited institutions, including the Outdoor Instructor Certification by the Chinese Mountaineering Association, National Paddleboarding Proficiency Certification, and Rescue Certification by the Red Cross Society of China.

Villagers qualified as guides through this training program now earn an average monthly income exceeding RMB 10,000, representing a 4-5 fold increase in annual income. These screenshots show the payment records for our guides.

This project, which boosts local prosperity through outdoor tourism, shows the successful integration of sports and tourism for rural revitalization.

Mafengwo remains committed to leveraging our platform to connect mountainous resources, empower industry partners, and enhance user experiences. We invite you to join us in transforming China's mountainous resources into world-class travel destinations, inspiring more people to embrace mountain tourism, and revitalizing rural communities through mountain tourism. Thank you!

Image source: Mafengwo

Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Wenwen

Editor Ⅱ: Bao Gang

Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong