Sports, culture and tourism in cities along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal: sustainable development via SWOT analysis and point-axis spatial optimization.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (BHGC) serves as a significant cultural, economic, and ecological corridor in China. The cities situated along the canal possess distinctive sports, cultural, and tourism resources that enhance their prominence within the global canal system. Nevertheless, it also faces challenges, such as the necessity to strengthen the inheritance and utilization of sports culture, enhance the quality of the tourism experience, and deepen the integration of sports culture with tourism (SCT). Moreover, current research lacks a comprehensive review of the resource endowment, developmental advantages, limitations, opportunities, and threats related to SCT in cities along the BHGC. This study utilizes the SWOT analysis framework to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats linked to SCT along the BHGC, based on data derived from literature reviews, field surveys, and expert interviews. In light of these results of SWOT, we recommend leveraging developmental opportunities, such as the establishment of the National Cultural (GCNC) Parks along the BHGC, the rising disposable income of residents along the canal, and the successful bid for World Heritage status, to advance regional planning. Simultaneously, we strive to mitigate risks such as tourist diversion across various tourism markets, inadequate coordinated growth, and a scarcity of specialized professionals. Our approach involves leveraging internal and resource strengths to implement strategies encompassing sports tourism demonstration bases, comprehensive development, collaborative marketing, and integrated services. Furthermore, building on these analysis results, we have devised a point-axis development framework termed "one axis, three segments, and multiple nodes," drawing on cultural route and point-axis model theories to inform spatial planning. Future research will concentrate on improving the inclusion of tourists and residents in the sample and refining qualitative research methods prior to quantitative analysis. This paper offers theoretical underpinning and practical insights for BHGC cities to enhance their sustainable cultural tourism.