China’s sports industry, while negatively impacted by COVID-19 in the short term, is experiencing recovery as the pandemic comes under control. Thanks to their trendy image, some sports are gaining in popularity among the younger generation, including outdoor activities which is now mainstream and skiing/snowboarding which is still quite niche. Strong growth is expected for both when the pandemic is over and sports-themed travelling booms.

Apart from sports participation, the younger generation’s way of watching sports is undergoing changes as well. An increasing number of young consumers are now accustomed to watching short fun sports videos on TikTok for leisure, indicating opportunity for sports players to leverage this emerging platform to engage with them.

This Report investigates consumers’ attitudes and behaviours towards sports game watching as well as sports activity participation. The definition of sports activity is broad, covering a wide variety of outdoor and indoor sports and activities.

Mintel divides consumers into three groups based on their MHI (Monthly Household Income).