The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International High-end Forum on Sports Tourism was successfully held on June 22 at the Nansha Marina in Guangzhou. The forum served as an international platform to promote industrial innovation, public health, and cultural exchanges across the region.
At the opening session, Liu Wei, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee and Secretary of the CPC Nansha District Committee, emphasized that Nansha District would seize the strategic opportunities brought by the Overall Plan for Deepening Comprehensive Cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao in Nansha of Guangzhou. By leveraging its geographical and policy advantages, Nansha will further enhance its sports-event brands, strengthen equipment manufacturing, make better use of its coastal resources, and promote the integrated development of culture and sports. The district is committed to building a new highland for international sports events and working with Hong Kong and Macao to open a new chapter in sports tourism.
Fok Kai-kong, a deputy to the National People's Congress from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, highlighted Nansha's transformation from former wetlands into a modern city as a vivid example of the Greater Bay Area's integrated development.
Drawing on Hong Kong's extensive experience in international event management and the collaborative foundation of collaboration built through last year's co-hosting of the 15th National Games, Fok proposed that Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao jointly develop "multi-destination" premium sports tourism routes. He also called for a joint bid for major international sports events, urging the three regions to use sports as a bridge for deeper integration and broader openness to the world.
A key highlight of the event was the signing of a significant cooperation agreement between the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Academy GBA and the Guangzhou Nansha Ying-tung Education Training Center. The partnership marks the deep integration of world-class football club resources with Nansha's local educational infrastructure. Targeting young people aged 4 to 18, the initiative will introduce top-tier international training methods and build a "school without walls" in Nansha to cultivate sports talent and support youth sports development in the region.
Leveraging the momentum of the APEC "China Year," the forum successfully connected regional cultural and sports resources with the global market, giving fresh impetus to international cultural exchanges and the sustainable development of the sports tourism industry.
The event was jointly hosted by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Sports Culture Research Institute, the Center on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong, the Qiyue Research Institute (Hong Kong, China), and the Guangzhou Nansha Guangdong-Macao Development Promotion Association, with support from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government.
Author | Dong Han
Photo | Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International High-end Forum on Sports Tourism
