Outdoor firms enjoying profitable adventure

Equipment makers have benefited from the rising popularity of outdoor activities. The industry grew 11.28 percent year-on-year in 2014 to to 20.1 billion yuan ($3.2 billion).[Photo provided to China Daily]

More people are getting off their couches in order to explore Mother Nature's offerings

When Wang Hengxuan posted a photo from his recent hiking trip in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province on WeChat, China's most popular social network, he received some 100 likes, a figure that is about thrice what he normally gets for other types of images. Within a fortnight, close to 10 of his friends started posting similar pictures from the same location, and this number keeps increasing.

"Many of my friends had left comments saying that the place looks so cool and asked me for information and trip advice. Despite the temperatures getting higher and higher this summer, they've been flocking to the same site to participate in outdoor activities over the weekends," said the 28-year-old sales manager who is based in Shanghai.

"Engaging in outdoor activities is a trend now－it looks cool and once you have mastered the essential skills, you can spend your weekends doing something really different from the usual stuff such as dining out or watching a film. It's a totally new world," added Wang.

The outdoor activities business is now a $10-billion market in China that sees double digit growth every year, according to data by event management company APAX Group.

"Outdoor activities are no longer a niche market that meets the demands of a small group of people. It is now a part of mass entertainment and the lifestyle industry," said Terence Chu, the managing director of APAX Group.

Television programs and documentaries such as those on Discovery Channel have been integral in creating a travel bug－awareness and curiosity about the great outdoors－while social media applications like WeChat and Weibo have been responsible for spreading it among users.

Evidently, outdoor equipment makers have already begun benefitting from the popularizing of outdoor activities－the sector grew 11.28 percent year-on-year in 2014 to 20.1 billion yuan ($3.2 billion), according to data by COCA, an association for outdoor equipment makers in China.

"Outdoor activities may help a city or town to leverage more resources and drive economic growth, because more participation will bring about more consumption," said Wang Qinying, governor of Deqing county, an outdoor activity hub in Zhejiang province which is only three hours' driving from Shanghai.

According to a circular by China's State Council, the sports industry－which outdoor activities fall under－will expand to 5 trillion yuan by 2025. Currently, the sports industry contributes some 0.6 percent to China's economic growth, compared to the 2 percent in developed countries, demonstrating that there is still much room for the industry to grow, according to a report by People's Daily.

"We believe that China's outdoor activities market is a blue ocean, and it is expanding at a fast pace," said COCA's latest annual report.

Capitalizing on this potential is Discovery Consumer Products, the licensing arm of Discovery Communications. The American global mass media company recently announced its partnership with APAX Group to bring the world's first Discovery adventure park to China's Moganshan in Deqing county, a scenic mountainous area that has become a popular weekend getaway destination for those living in Shanghai.

The 400-million-yuan park will serve as an adventure destination that integrates extreme sports, tourism and hospitality, and will feature China's largest rock climbing wall, zip-lines, ATV tours, mountain bike courses, hiking routes and obstacle challenges for participants as young as eight years old.