As April arrives, the festive atmosphere gradually intensifies. The streets will be filled with more overseas fans sporting their own face paint, as well as local young people eager to experience the excitement. With the Hong Kong Football Club International 10-a-side Rugby Tournament, the Hong Kong International 7-a-side Rugby Tournament, and the UCI World Cup Track Cycling Championships all taking place, Hong Kong is entering its peak season for sporting events, promising a series of exciting experiences for its citizens.
Breaking down barriers between major events and communities
Last year's events were a resounding success, attracting over 2 million visitors and generating over 8 billion yuan in consumption and over 4 billion yuan in economic value. With numerous events this year, the economic results are expected to reach even greater heights. However, as fans raise their glasses in celebration inside the stadiums, we must reflect on a crucial question: will the enormous economic benefits from this extravagance remain confined to the stadiums and hotel chains, or will they truly spill over, allowing even small restaurants and local businesses to benefit?
April 6th marks the "International Day of Sport for Development and Peace," and the theme for 2026 is "Sport: Building Bridges, Breaking Down Barriers." Applying this macro-level international concept to Hong Kong's governance practices, the SAR government also needs to "build bridges and roads," breaking down the invisible barriers between major sporting events and the community, so that economic benefits can truly be realized "little by little."
Mainland China's government and private sector work together to "build a stage and put on a show".
When discussing expanding the reach of regional sports competitions to national attention, the experience of mainland cities is indispensable. In recent years, "traveling to a city for a sporting event" has become one of the most popular travel slogans on the social media platform Xiaohongshu. From winter sports and the Greater Bay Area National Games to regional leagues such as the "Village Super League" and the "Suzhou Super League," the sports craze has spread to rural towns and villages, becoming a powerful economic driver.
The "Village Boundary Cup" Farmers' Football Tournament in Peixian County, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, is a prime example. During the Spring Festival of 2023, facing challenges from neighboring provinces and cities, the local villages faced a shortage of venues and accommodation capacity. In response, the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau, together with departments of culture and tourism, agriculture and rural affairs, and other relevant departments, proactively intervened, not only building high-standard football fields in the villages but also assisting grassroots organizations in connecting with hotels and restaurants for support and providing related preferential policies.
Under the government's overall planning, Qibao Village and Babao Village in Peixian County successfully received over 200,000 tourists in 2025. The 11 key restaurants and hotels supported by the provincial government achieved a turnover of approximately 7.9 million yuan, with an occupancy rate as high as 90%. This "government provides the platform, and the people perform" model accurately demonstrates how cross-departmental coordination can transform tourist traffic into real money for community businesses.
Reform the "M" brand to drive cross-industry collaboration
Back in Hong Kong, while we certainly have the advantage of international-level branded events, the government often falls into the role of "passive approval" and "venue provider" in the coordination of major events. The government should drastically update the terms and conditions of "M" branded events, mandating that funded organizations must work with businesses and merchants in the area where the event venue is located (covering catering, hotels, retail and transportation, etc.) to provide package deals for tourists.
Meanwhile, the Committee on Major Sporting Events should not merely stand by as a bystander, but should proactively provide community networking support and compile a list of potential partner businesses for the organizations. To create tangible incentives, the government could introduce "incentive grants": organizations that can collaborate with a specified number of local businesses could receive additional incentive grants, which could then be used flexibly for event-related purposes.
Creating multi-stop sports tourism in the Greater Bay Area
In addition to deepening local community ties, Hong Kong cannot ignore the enormous synergistic effects of the Greater Bay Area. The Hong Kong Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, in its summary report on hosting the 15th National Games, pointed out that the collaborative hosting of the Games by Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao created a new model and laid a solid foundation for deepening sports cooperation and exchange among the three places.
The Hong Kong SAR Government should capitalize on this momentum and proactively collaborate with sister cities to launch cooperative models such as "Greater Bay Area Sporting Event Tourism Packages." By encouraging multi-stop participation, we can not only precisely redirect tourists who originally planned to travel to the mainland to watch the games to Hong Kong, but also inject a new wave of economic vitality into local businesses. The economic impact of sporting events cannot be isolated; only through precise bridging between government and business can all Hong Kong citizens truly feel the economic pulse brought about by the passion for sports.
[Hong Kong 01]:https://www.hk01.com/01论坛/60338157/潘学智-盛事经济如何让社区小商户分一杯药
