Snow tourism set to move onto fast track
Industry sees growth opportunities at home and abroad amid momentum created by Beijing 2022 Winter Games
This winter — the first skiing season after China optimized its COVID-19 response measures — the country’s ice and snow-related tourism sector is poised for strong growth as momentum sustained from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is well set to stimulate a multibillion-dollar industry, experts said.
Amid dropping temperatures, online searches for skiing-related products on Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency, in November were three times the October level. Meanwhile, the booking volumes of admission tickets to skiing resorts nationwide have surged nearly 150 percent over the same period of 2019, or before the pandemic, Qunar found.
By 2025, the total output value of China’s ice- and snow-related sector is forecast to hit 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion), accounting for one-fifth of the total output value of China’s sports industry. This year, the figure is expected to reach 890 billion yuan, according to a report released by the Asia Data Group in September.
As the new skiing season got ready to commence, skiers and snowboarders were eager to hit the slopes again, driven by the realization that this was their first opportunity after the country optimized its COVID-19 response measures late last year.
“The success of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has further driven the growth of the ice and snow travel sector in China, and an increasing number of people are going on skiing trips,” said Zhang Weilin, an analyst at market research provider LeadLeo Research Institute.
“Young Chinese consumers, especially Generation Z consumers, are willing to try something new and challenge themselves. Ice and snow trips satisfy such a demand,” Zhang said.
Gen Z consumers refer to people born after 1995 and into the 2000s.
The ice and snow tourism market has seen a significant number of business opportunities, thanks to a long industrial chain that includes snowmaking equipment manufacturing, sporting apparel, and skills training for skiing-related activities.
“The development speed of China’s ice and snow industry has entered a more stable and sustainable stage,” said Zhang Li, executive vice-president of Asia Data Group.
Twenty-six provincial governments in China have issued favorable policies to promote the development of ice and snow sports and related sectors, moves that are expected to further boost the industry.
This winter, the skiing association of Sichuan province in Southwest China plans to organize various events to promote skiing among the locals. These activities include different types of skiing competitions, indoor and outdoor training for skiing, as well as the development of the cultural and tourism markets.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, Sichuan hopes to build itself into a competitive region for ice and snow sports in South China. It aims to drive more than 10 million residents to participate in ice and snow sports annually, to take the output value of the sector to more than 30 billion yuan, the local government said.
In September, some 500 companies from over 20 countries participated in the World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo at Shougang Park, the location of the Big Air Shougang venue used at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.
The countries that took part included Austria, Italy, Finland, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Companies showcased their latest technologies, products and services related to skiing, at the expo.
Former Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schussel visited the exhibition halls of the winter expo and praised the vigorous development of China’s ice and snow industry.
Schussel said each country has unique ice and snow industry resources and sports cultures, and international exchanges and cooperation should be strengthened to further promote the development of the ice and snow sports industry globally.
Liu Jingmin, executive vice-chairman of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, said ever since the first winter expo was held in 2016, the event has helped promote the development of China’s winter sports industry and international exchanges.
Italian snow-making equipment company TechnoAlpin, which provides equipment to 90 percent of large-scale ski resorts in China, said it is confident about potential tourists who are expected to go skiing this winter in China. It noted that this is the first skiing season after the country optimized its pandemic control measures.
The passenger flows at indoor ski resorts in China have also been significant, and the company said it plans to increase its investments in China. The country currently makes up about 10 percent of its global business. Its equipment includes machines used for ice resurfacing, dust reduction, and firefighting.
“We are implementing fully automated management models of ski resorts in China to help them operate more efficiently. The growth potential of China’s ice and snow industry is enormous, and we have embraced business opportunities for rapid growth in the Chinese market,” said Michael Mayr, sales manager in Asia of TechnoAlpin.
The flow of skiers is expected to be significant this winter, especially in
Young Chinese consumers are willing to try something new and challenge themselves. Ice and snow trips satisfy such a demand. ZHANG WEILIN An analyst at market research provider LeadLeo Research Institute
some top skiing destinations such as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in Northwest China and Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, in North China.
Zhangjiakou, located about 200 kilometers northwest of Beijing, hosted the snow sports events of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. High-speed trains that connect Beijing to Zhangjiakou have shrunk travel time from four hours to about an hour.