Sustainability has become a central pillar for many National Olympic Committees in Asia. Japan and South Korea have developed pioneering programs, while Qatar has placed sustainability at the heart of its major events strategy. In this context, the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee is seeking to consolidate its position along the same lines, with visible progress, although still behind the region’s most ambitious initiatives.
With this vision, on August 29 the Sport and Environment Commission of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee held its fifth Sustainability Forum in Hualien. For the first time, the event was moved to the eastern region of the island, with the aim of showing how sporting events such as road races can become an economic and tourism driver without abandoning respect for the environment.
A program with four pillars
This year’s edition focused on four themes: exploring Social Return on Investment (SROI) in sport, the resilience of sports tourism in eastern Taiwan, the philosophy of triathlon races that embrace “the courage to be different,” and the application of sustainable practices within the forum itself.
Lin Ting-fang, Director of the Committee’s Sport and Environment Commission, underlined that sustainability is a priority for the International Olympic Committee and emphasized that the national body is working with the local sports community to move forward in this area.
Hualien and sports tourism
Hualien Mayor Hsu Chen-Wei stressed that sport, particularly road running, not only promotes physical activity but also drives the economy and attracts visitors. “Hualien is a uniquely gifted city for sports tourism, with mountains, the sea, and a diverse cultural identity,” she said. Competitions such as the Hualien International Dragon Boat Race or the Hualien Pacific Marathon are examples of how to unite sport, tourism, and sustainability within the same project.
This approach is something that more and more municipalities around the world are pursuing to attract tourists. In this sense, Chinese Taipei does not want to fall behind its Asian counterparts.
