For host cities, making tennis more than a sporting event can also serve as a platform for destination marketing, particularly when the event attracts an international audience.

　　Sports tourism can offer cities something that conventional sightseeing does not, according to tennis commentator Chen Chi.

　　"Tennis events can activate destinations and build recognizable identities," Chen told the Global Times. "The international player base and global fan following of tennis give host cities an audience well beyond their local audiences, which is widely seen at the Grand Slam events."

　　The challenge now is to make those visitors stay longer and explore more of the host city. That is where the "ticket plus" model comes in.

　　Rather than simply asking visitors to buy a match ticket, organizers are increasingly packaging the tournament with hotels, transportation, attractions and other experiences.

　　Foreign tourists wearing traditional Chinese hanfu visit Suzhou, East China"s Jiangsu Province. Photo: VCG

　　Culture matters

　　In Suzhou, East China"s Jiangsu Province, organizers of the WTA 125 Suzhou Open are trying to connect the tournament with the city"s existing cultural resources.

　　Zhou Yunsong, tournament director of the Suzhou Open, said the timing gives spectators an opportunity to combine a tennis trip with a holiday as it partially overlaps with the annual National Day holidays.

　　"For our spectators, this is a rare opportunity to combine watching tennis with travel. For domestic tennis fans, they don"t have to take time off work as they normally would," Zhou told the Global Times.

　　The tournament venue, the Yangcheng Lake International Tennis Center, is located near several cultural and commercial areas in Suzhou.