Beijing Winter Olympics Help China's Ice and Snow Economy "Lively Tiger"

(Beijing Winter Olympics) Beijing Winter Olympics help China's ice and snow economy "live and breathe"

Beijing, February 5 (China News Service) -- The Beijing Winter Olympics have officially opened, and the current ice and snow events in the stadium are in full swing, pushing the warm atmosphere of "all people on ice and snow" to a climax, and ice and snow sports are also expected to become the "standard" activities of the Chinese New Year from this year.

Riding on the east wind of the Winter Olympics, this year of the tiger, the ice and snow economy is also "alive and well".

Data map: Heilongjiang Yabuli Ski Resort, tourists enjoy skiing. Photo by Sun Hanlun, China News Service

Under the call of the ice and snow "south exhibition westward expansion and eastward expansion" strategy and "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports", ice and snow sports continue to break the circle. From personal ice and snow sports to ice and snow entertainment for the whole family, ice and snow sports have become a new trend and a new fashion, flying into the homes of ordinary people.

According to the Statistical Survey Report on "Driving 300 Million People to Participate in Ice and Snow Sports" commissioned by the National Bureau of Statistics of the State Administration of Sport of China, from the successful bid for the Winter Olympic Games to October 2021, the number of residents across the country who have participated in ice and snow sports is 346 million, and the participation rate of ice and snow sports is 24.56%. The goal of bringing 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports has been achieved.

Taking the preparation of the 2022 Winter Olympics as an opportunity, the ice and snow market has also entered the fast lane. Many places have launched the ice and snow tourism season, the consumption of ice and snow tourism is hot, and cold resources have become a hot economy.

Today, Beijing's Miyunnanshan Ski Resort is wrapped in silver, and many ski enthusiasts enjoy skiing fun. It is understood that due to the rapid growth of the number of ski tourists, the coaching team of Nanshan Ski School has increased from the original 180 to 260 this year.

Hu Wei, general manager of Nanshan Ski Resort, told China News Agency that since the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics, the development of ice and snow sports has been supported in many ways, which has greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the people for ice and snow tourism. The number of tourists to the Nanshan Ski Resort has also increased significantly, and the number of tourists during the New Year's Day holiday in 2022 has increased significantly, an increase of more than 20% over the same period in the past. In order to meet the needs of more tourists, Nanshan Ski Resort has carried out infrastructure upgrading and transformation internally, not only upgrading the original track, but also expanding the night field area, and the number of tourists at night can reach 3,000.

Ice and snow sports not only meet people's exercise and entertainment needs, but also let people form frequent and regular ice and snow consumption habits.

According to the "China Ice and Snow Tourism Consumption Big Data Report (2022)" released by the China Tourism Research Institute, under the stimulation of supply and demand such as the Beijing Winter Olympics, the return of ice and snow outbound tourism, the upgrading of tourism consumption and the national layout of ice and snow facilities, it is expected that the number of Chinese ice and snow leisure tourists will reach 305 million in the ice and snow season from 2021 to 2022, and China's ice and snow leisure tourism revenue is expected to reach 323.3 billion yuan (RMB, the same below).

Driven by the trend of "ice and snow for the whole people", the consumption structure of ice and snow sports is also constantly optimized and upgraded. According to the ice and snow sports consumption report released by JD.com, the ice and snow sports-related consumption during the 2022 Annual Goods Festival increased significantly, with the transaction amount increasing by 135% compared with the same period last year, and the number of transactions increasing by 108%.

Under the influence of the Winter Olympics, ice and snow sports related categories have become the hot "New Year's goods" of this ice and snow year. The data shows that during the 2022 Jingdong New Year Festival, the transaction amount of ice and snow equipment increased by 107% year-on-year, ice and snow sports clothing increased by 99% year-on-year, and ice and snow sports protective gear increased by 41% year-on-year.

In the view of Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Research Institute, the Winter Olympics are coming, the ice and snow are hot, and the local tours and peripheral tours with ice and snow as the main activity background and consumption scene continue to heat up. From now on, it is necessary to make overall plans for the use of venues after the game, accelerate the construction of the Beijing-Zhang sports and cultural tourism belt, further strengthen the social atmosphere of developing ice and snow leisure and ice and snow tourism, and further cultivate the institutional momentum for the development of ice and snow leisure and ice and snow tourism.

"With 300 million people participating in ice and snow sports, the history of ice and snow sports in the world will be divided by the Beijing Winter Olympics." IOC President Bach said.

After the Winter Olympics, where will China's ice and snow economy go?

Wang Xianghao, executive general manager of Xinghong Ao Sports Culture Management Co., Ltd., told China News Agency that since the successful bid for the Winter Olympics, the number of schools and teams participating in ice and snow sports has increased year by year, and the public's interest in participating in ice and snow sports has continued to increase. In his view, the ice and snow market will not decay after the Winter Olympics, but under the opportunity of the Winter Olympics, it can drive the people and professional teams to develop by leaps and bounds.

Hou Jie, deputy general manager of Xinghong Olympic Sports Culture Management Co., Ltd., also said that in the context of the Winter Olympics, the original relatively niche ice and snow sports have greatly increased. It is hoped that in the future, people of all ages can be encouraged to participate in ice and snow sports, accelerate the construction of high-level sports teams, and make ice and snow "no longer cold".

The "China Ice and Snow Tourism Development Report (2022)" predicts that by 2025, the number of ice and snow tourists in China will exceed 500 million person-times, and the domestic ice and snow tourism revenue will exceed 1.1 trillion yuan. We can take the opportunity of the Beijing Winter Olympics to further improve the policy system, accelerate the stimulation of the huge development potential of China's ice and snow industry and sports industry, and boost the development of the "white economy". (End)