Fade the halo of the Winter Olympics, is skiing still popular?
Author|Bai Lu
Entering December, with the ski resorts in Northeast China, Xinjiang and other places opening one after another, skiers can't wait to go to the major ski resorts to complete the check-in. Even ski resorts that are under snowmaking construction and have not yet officially opened have started to launch early bird group buying campaigns...
According to the "2023 Ski Industry White Paper", the mainland's ice and snow tourism revenue will exceed 700 billion yuan in 2025, and the market size of the ski industry is expected to exceed 166 billion yuan in 2027. Behind the rapid growth of the 100 billion market, different consumer groups have also generated different consumer needs in multiple vertical fields such as equipment, training, and peripheral accommodation.
Especially in the past two years, in addition to professional skiers, the ski resort has also attracted young people who are keen to find a "partner". They save money by buying second-hand ski equipment from Xianyu, renting equipment at venues, and buying coaches in groups, and travel agencies and clubs have also launched discounts for specific groups and group purchase packages to attract more newcomers. Ski consumption is gradually digesting the Internet celebrity halo brought by the Winter Olympics and taking root in a way that is more in line with the market.
Cold resources, hot consumption
Skiing is an industry that is highly dependent on the season and region, so the north is still the main destination of ski resorts. According to the data of Tongcheng Travel, the top three popular ski destinations this year are Heilongjiang, Jilin and Xinjiang. Among them, Xinjiang is also the province with the fastest growth in ski popularity this year, with a year-on-year increase of more than 4 times.
Heilongjiang and Jilin, which have the earliest openings and the largest number of natural ski resorts, are located in the mountains, with a large number of ski slopes and a long length. For example, Yabuli Sunshine Ski Resort, a popular ski resort in China, has a total length of more than 32km, a drop of 540m, and a maximum slope of 45°, so the difficulty of large ski resorts in the north is mainly medium and advanced.
However, the natural geographical advantage also means that the player is inconvenient to travel and the cost of accommodation is high. As a result, driven by market demand and favorable policies, some high-quality indoor and outdoor ski resorts continue to land in the south. Ice and snow sports are supported throughout the year, skiing is no longer limited by regional and seasonal boundaries, and a new trend of skiing sports led by southern tourists is gradually emerging.
With the rapid growth of consumption items such as indoor ski resorts, indoor ice rinks, and indoor ice and snow worlds, since November, four of the top five ski consumption GMV in China have been in southern cities, namely Shanghai, Wuhan, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen.
According to data from the Qunar platform, the sales of ski tickets for indoor ski resorts in Guangzhou, Kunming and Chongqing increased by 1.5 times. According to other public information, Guangzhou Hot Miracle has become the first ski resort in China to exceed the 1 million mark. In the TOP10 list of popular domestic ski resorts in Mafengwo, Sichuan's Taiziling Ski Resort ranks among the top 5, and Hubei Shennongjia International Ski Resort ranks 8th.
In fact, people's enthusiasm for skiing is reflected in 11.11. In late November, the "2023 Snow Season Opening Consumer Trends" released by the e-commerce platform What is worth buying showed that from November 1 to 20, the GMV of the "skiing" keyword products in the station increased by 23.33% year-on-year, of which the GMV of ski tickets surged by 332% year-on-year.
Xiao Jie, a ski instructor working in Hebei, also said that this year's online pre-sales are much better than in previous years, with most of the partner hotels already full, and he himself has accepted reservations from more than 150 students, most of whom are young people.
According to Xiaojie, every year in the snow season, an average of two or three one-on-one students are brought on a single day, and the working time is about 6 hours. "Then the heavy snow season came, and the workload increased by about two hours. In the peak season, Xiaojie can get about 20,000-30,000 yuan from a month's monthly salary plus commission.
*The snow resort where Xiaojie works
Although a large number of tourists flock to the ski resort every winter, Xiaojie also revealed to the Surprise Research Institute that the ski resort is not as profitable as it seems to be. Since the main consumer group of the ski market is mainly tourists, how to make tourists who experience skiing at one time become repeat customers is a problem that many ski resort operators will face in the future. The cost of actual operation has become the main source of pressure for the ski resort at present.
The research institute learned that the investment in outdoor ski resorts is generally heavy, and the amount of equipment depreciation and amortization and operating costs remain high. According to industry insiders, it is necessary to invest two or three billion yuan to open a snow resort in Baoshan around Beijing, plus hotels and other complete supporting facilities, and the comprehensive investment scale is not less than three billion.
In addition, the heating bill for just one day during the official operation period can be as high as hundreds of thousands, so the life of the ski resort is not easy. Previously, Wanlong Ski Resort, Vanke Songhua Lake Ski Resort and other head ski resorts were exposed to losses, and other small and medium-sized ski resorts were also generally facing profit problems. However, these possible problems in actual operation have been covered up by the heat of the market.
Merchants push discounts, and skiing is still "luxury"
In order to catch up with this year's winter skiing fever, merchants generally attract different customer groups by upgrading infrastructure, fighting price wars, launching a variety of binding packages and other preferential activities.
At present, on platforms such as Meituan and Dianping, the ticket price of outdoor ski resorts ranges from 100-1,000 yuan. In order to lock in the skiing crowd in advance, many merchants will start selling early bird special offers during Double 11. For example, Zhaojin International Ski Resort in Xi'an has launched unlimited skiing for matinee skiing during the week, 4-hour skiing on weekends, and single tickets for night skiing on weekends, with prices basically remaining between 100-300 yuan.
Some ski resorts in the Tohoku region have also launched packages that include food, lodging and play. For example, Jilin Songhua Lake Resort "4 days and 3 nights in one" double package price of 4,000 yuan and above, of which the accommodation part is mainly a hotel superior room, with a single-family courtyard, the package includes double winter fishing, Songhua Lake Ski Resort junior magic carpet 3-hour ski ticket 2, Tianding Mountain 3-hour ski ticket 2, and Changchun Ice and Snow Xintiandi ticket, which also includes ski equipment rental and ropeway round-trip cable car costs.
The institute has noticed that some ski resorts are also trying to attract college students to target users. For example, undergraduate, master's and doctoral students studying in universities in China can make an appointment 3-6 days in advance to enjoy free skiing programs on the premise of holding the verification code of the Ministry of Education's academic information network. However, there is an additional charge for accommodation and ski equipment rental.
Despite the various preferential activities offered by the merchants, skiing is still a slightly "luxury" consumption for young people who are not in the "snow area". Duoduo, a skier who lives in Yunnan, told the Institute that she had been to Yabuli Ski Resort once before, and the round-trip ticket for a single person in the snow season was close to 3,000 yuan, and the cost of accommodation for four days and three nights in the hotel was about 3,500 yuan.
"Coupled with the cost of tickets and on-site ski rental, it costs a lot of money to toss it around. In addition, it also takes a lot of energy on the road, getting off the plane from Harbin and then taking a train to Yabuli Town, which takes about 2.5 hours, and then you need to change to a ski resort bus. ”
Another high cost in skiing is hiring an instructor. In the ski resorts of Northeast China and Xinjiang, the price of a ski instructor is about 800 yuan, and the average unit price is about 100 yuan per hour, while in some high-end ski resorts, the cost of a VIP coach can reach about 2,000 yuan. If you just play in the snow, you may not need a coach to guide you, but most novices will basically choose to hire an instructor in order to experience the fun of skiing and the mentality of "come and come". According to Duoduo, hiring a coach can not only learn to ski, but also avoid many risks.
When Toto had skied in France before, he had skiing experience, so he took the liberty of choosing the advanced slopes without being accompanied by an instructor. Because he was not familiar with the scene environment, Duoduo accidentally slipped into an abandoned snow slope and accidentally fell and fell into confusion.
* Toto in the French snow resorts
"I don't remember the helicopter rescue at all, but I was already in the hospital when I woke up, but fortunately I only had a knee injury and needed surgery later. Therefore, I advise students who go skiing, don't take it lightly and don't hire a coach, sometimes spending money is to save your life. ”
Rich and thrifty, skiing does not pit the "poor"?
Skiing, as a popular sport that cannot be touched every winter, has been attracting new users to enter the game, and the skiing crowd has gradually differentiated into two styles of burning money and saving money in terms of consumption concepts.
For example, some ski enthusiasts are keen to invest heavily in ski equipment. Duoduo said that he bought two pairs of ski gloves, two sets of snow suits and snowshoes, and a set of ski gear, including hip pads, knee pads, helmets, snow goggles and quick-drying suits for skiing. In addition, in order to prevent accidents from happening again, Duoduo also prepared electric heating vests and wireless intercom communication equipment. According to Duoduo's rough calculation, the cost of all equipment reached thirty or forty thousand.
"NOWADAYS, THE SKI CIRCLE IS VERY CURLY, AND THE SKI WEAR HAS TO START WITH BURTON AK, AND IF YOU ARE A SENIOR ENTHUSIAST, IT WILL ONLY COST MORE. Ski clothes and snowboards are not only brands, but the rarity reflected in the limited edition is the pursuit of the big guys. ”
In terms of venue selection, a ski resort with advantages in climate, scale and infrastructure is an ideal target for experienced enthusiasts. The Nordic countries such as Norway and Switzerland, which are the birthplace of skiing, are the victories of skiing in the minds of ski enthusiasts. In China, the Internet celebrity ski resorts in Northeast China and Xinjiang are also deeply loved by ski enthusiasts.
According to Duoduo, there are also obvious differences in slope settings and pricing strategies in different regions to attract different types of ski enthusiasts. "If you just want to ski coolly, you can go to Altay, Xinjiang, ignoring the cost of transportation, where there are many ski trails, and accommodation and ski tickets are also cheap, and the ski resorts in the Altay area can even ski for free as long as you have air tickets and hotel reservations. Xinjiang Keketuohai is also an Internet celebrity ski area, but if you are a novice, it is still not recommended to go there, because Xinjiang ski resorts are mainly famous for high-end trails and wild snow, which is still risky for those who are just getting started. ”
Compared with skiers like Duoduo, tourists who only use skiing as a tourist vacation, as well as young people who are not wealthy at hand, also have cheap ways to play. Adhering to the consumption psychology of "a thousand can be spent, ten must be saved", the "poor play" crowd took the initiative to open the "group buying" mode in terms of equipment, venues and other consumption items.
For example, when the ski season arrives this year, many social media platforms have sprung up with content that "seeks a partner". Many netizens said that they hope to find a ski partner who fights for transportation, accommodation, and coaching together. In addition, the second-hand trading market has also ushered in young people who are shopping for goods. Some people who are reluctant to spend a lot of money on equipment like ski enthusiasts tend to rent equipment for a single time or buy second-hand equipment in advance on platforms such as Xianyu.
According to the observation of the Surprise Research Institute, the price of the equipment provided for rental by the ski resort is not high. Rental prices for common equipment such as ski suits, snow goggles and protective gear range from 20 to 50 yuan, while the cost of renting a full set of equipment is also between 100 and 300 yuan. Compared with the cost of buying new equipment, which can easily cost thousands of yuan, leasing is obviously more in line with the needs of experiential consumers.
Some netizens said frankly: "There is a rich way to play, and there is no money to play." If you have the conditions, you can put a board on the salted fish and come back to wax it yourself. If you can't afford to buy ski clothes, you can spend a few hundred yuan to buy a set of fleece jackets and soft shell clothes, buy a better snow goggles, and wear a hat directly. You can still play. ”
In the "2023 Trend Sports Consumer Trend Insight Report" released by the Surprise Research Institute in March this year, it was mentioned that skiing has become a long-term hot spot on social platforms in winter. The consumer demand generated around the ski scene covers a variety of consumption forms such as travel, accommodation, commodity consumption and skill services.
Whether it is from the continuous heat of the topic every winter or the enthusiasm shown by consumers in the end market, skiing is a business scenario worth long-term development. However, at present, the construction speed of infrastructure such as ski resorts and the development level of supporting industries are not enough to meet the market demand brought about by the growth of skiers.
It is worth looking forward to the fact that skiing is becoming a consumer trend every winter from a niche sport to the naked eye, and in the near future, the market may bring a special surprise to ski enthusiasts and investors.
*Xiaojie and Duoduo in the article are pseudonyms