Poster News reporter Zhou Lingfeng reports
Since April this year, the marathon has become the first choice for many road running events. According to incomplete statistics, more than 100 marathons were held across the country in April. It is worth noting that on April 21, the 2024 Long Island Marathon was successfully completed, and on that day, there were three marathons in Shandong alone, namely the Long Island Marathon, Qingdao Marathon and Zouping Marathon.
According to the data, the number of marathon and road running related events in China has increased from 51 in 2014 to 1,828 in 2019, and according to statistics, a total of 622 events will be held in 2023, with 1,067,800 participants. More than 170 cities across the country have held marathons, with more than 10 marathons in Chongqing, Beijing and Suzhou. Even some unknown third- and fourth-tier cities have joined the craze for holding marathons, and runners shouted: "I can't finish the run, I can't finish it at all". So, what are the many cities that are keen to host marathons, and what can marathons bring to cities?
2023 Jinan (Quancheng) Marathon. Image source: Shandong Cultural Tourism
The marathon is not only an event, but also an economic account
Friends who participate in marathons know that most of the events are urban landscapes or main roads. Today's marathon, after being packaged by the operator, has become an "IP" that represents the city's culture. Backed by a strong level of attention, the intangible assets created are incalculable.
Around the marathon IP, a complete industrial chain is quietly emerging. From sports event operation rights, ticketing companies, media companies, derivatives sales and development platforms, etc., the purpose is to hope to monetize through marathon sports events.
In fact, the cost of running a marathon is not low. The prize money for the competition, the labor cost of operation, the promotion fee, and the maintenance of the track all require real money investment. An insider engaged in the operation of sports events revealed that the cost of small and medium-sized events is usually between 6 million yuan and 10 million yuan, and large-scale events cannot be held without an investment of more than 10 million yuan.
Although the cost may seem high, it is only a small amount compared to the revenue. The revenue composition of the marathon includes government subsidies, sponsorship income, registration fees and peripheral products, of which sponsorship fees are the majority. According to previous media reports, the price of the title sponsor of a head event is about 30 million yuan, and the sponsors of other levels range from 10 million yuan to one million yuan. Combing through the sponsorship volume of the four major marathon events in China, we found that a marathon has at least more than ten sponsors. In 2023, the Beijing Marathon, Shanghai Marathon, and Dalian Marathon will have 16, 19, and 54 sponsors, respectively.
On top of that, the marathon generates much more than that. Participating in a marathon alone usually does not just spend a day in the local area, but is a tourist experience in disguise. According to official statistics, the 2024 Wuxi Marathon held in March this year has created economic benefits of up to 283 million yuan. Among them, catering and accommodation accounted for the majority, generating economic benefits of 127.069 million yuan and 116.682 million yuan respectively. There are 33,000 contestants in this game, assuming that a family of three comes, the per capita consumption reaches 2,782 yuan, which is 2.63 times the per capita consumption during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday in Wuxi last year. Similarly, during this year's Nanjing Pukou Marathon, the per capita tourism consumption reached 736 yuan, which was 1.36 times the per capita consumption amount of Nanjing tourists during this year's Qingming holiday.
Sports set up the stage, cultural tourism singing, and the integration of sports and tourism has become the mainstream
The marathon seems to be an income from the event itself, but the tourism consumption brought by it contributes a lot of income to the city's economy. Every spring, the cherry blossoms in Wuhan are in full bloom. Just last month, the 2024 Wuhan Marathon came to an end. According to official data, more than 260,000 runners signed up and 30,000 people participated, of which more than 70% of the runners came from outside Wuhan.
2024 Wuhan Marathon. Image source: Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism
Unlike previous years, the organizers have moved the event from April to late March. This is not only due to the rising temperatures in April, but also the fact that the temperatures are not optimal for horse runners. What's more, late March coincides with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, allowing foreign tourists to experience the most beautiful cherry blossom season in Wuhan.
It is not only the time that has been adjusted, but also the line. The original track starts from the starting point, passes through Shahu Bridge to Bailu Street, turns into Donghu South Road, and then enters the East Lake Greenway. Due to urban construction reasons, it was adjusted to "Shahu Bridge→ Zhongbei Road→ Hongshan Square →Bayi Road", and a tree entered the East Lake Greenway until the end of Happy Valley.
Some seemingly simple fine-tunings have contributed to Wuhan's cultural tourism. According to data from Meituan and Dianping, as of March 21, the number of searches related to "cherry blossoms" increased by 146% month-on-month, and Wuhan ranked first among the top 10 cherry blossom cities. Using the marathon as a publicity stunt, in addition to the "Wuhan Marathon Cherry Blossom Tour" travel package, there is also the help of the food street, which has made Wuhan very profitable. According to the data of the Hanma Organizing Committee, 53,000 tourists came to Wuhan this year because of Hanma, and in 2024, Hanma is expected to create 1.571 billion yuan of urban benefits for Wuhan, of which the economic impact on Wuhan is 557 million yuan and the social impact on Wuhan is 1.014 billion yuan.
2024 Long Island Marathon. Image source: Long Island Release
Sports set up the stage, and it is not only Wuhan that sings opera in cultural tourism. The 2024 Long Island Marathon, which just ended on April 21, also made a wave of publicity for Long Island, which is about to usher in the peak tourist season. In order to display the tourism resources, the route of the marathon around the island is spread along the coastline as much as possible, almost all the well-known scenic spots on the island are connected, and the beautiful scenery along the way not only advertises the Long Island tourism, but also brings a pleasant feeling to the runners, which has become the biggest feature of the Long Island Marathon.
Even the various supplies at the race supply station and the finishing area are full of local characteristics, such as mackerel dumplings, kelp noodles, scallops, etc. In addition, medals, prizes, entry bags, finisher bags...... All of them are permeated with the elements of tourism in this seaside city.
For the host of the event, the influx of many foreign populations such as participants, spectators, and escorts can bring a short peak period of tourism to the city and increase the income of tourism consumption. The marathon has become a characteristic business card of the city, and it is no longer an "exclusive cheat". However, the expansion of the scale of the marathon has also exposed the lack of reception capacity in some cities. The embarrassing situation of "no one can report the big game, no one reports the small game" will still happen, and even some competitions will not be closed until three or four days before the start of the competition because the number of seats has not been filled, and even more have to be canceled because of the lack of participants. In addition, the competition also tests the city's ability to respond. In the 2024 Xuedou Mountain Jiangnan 100-mile cross-country race, 49 runners were trapped in the temple in the early morning due to no mobile phone signal.
Making the race "live", the city "hot", and the runners staying has also become a problem that every city needs to think about seriously. As the marathon events held in the city become more and more intense, how to play this "sports and tourism" integration card for a long time has also become a question worth pondering.