Esports and Anime Boost Summer Tourism in Sichuan
2026-09-09 16:32:38 by Queenie Tan
As part of the second season of the "Visit Sichuan Now · Fun Awaits" consumption promotion campaign launched by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Sichuan Province, the "Bashu Star Gaming Festival · Digital Tourism Integration Esports Carnival" recently concluded successfully. Guided by the provincial department and organized by entities including the National Animation and Game Industry (Sichuan) Revitalization Base, the event adopted a model of "online esports tournaments for traffic generation and offline comic conventions for physical engagement." Leveraging digital entertainment as a key driver, the initiative aimed to convert online youth traffic into offline consumption vitality, thereby expanding new scenarios for youth-oriented cultural and tourism spending in Sichuan.

The inaugural "Bashu Star Gaming Festival · Sichuan Esports Super League" featured Tencent's popular game "VALORANT" and was open to non-professional players and enthusiasts aged 18 and above. The tournament established a five-tier structure comprising "online qualifiers, city-level advancement, regional elimination rounds, semifinals, and grand finals", creating a provincial proprietary IP that balances professional standards with mass participation. Official venues were set up at internet cafes and esports arenas across 16 cities and prefectures in the province, attracting over 130 teams and more than 1,000 participants. After multiple rounds of competition, teams from four major regional divisions—Chengdu, Zigong, Deyang, and Mianyang—advanced to the provincial semifinals and grand finals. On August 9, the grand finals were held at the main venue of the 30th ComiDay Comic & Game Exchange Exhibition at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center.

The concurrent 30th ComiDay exhibition integrated diverse business formats, including fan creations, merchandise trading, and gaming experiences, demonstrating a significant exemplary effect within the industry. By hosting the esports tournament at the comic convention site, the event achieved cross-pollination between the esports and anime communities: it not only attracted young gamers to the exhibition but also leveraged the convention's resources to enhance the tournament experience, effectively boosting revenue and operational efficiency for offline brick-and-mortar businesses such as internet cafes and esports arenas across the province.
【本文部分内容由AI辅助生成,特此声明。The author(s) generated part of the content in this work with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is hereby declared.】

