The emergence of "ice and snow +" new products in various places has become the growth point of the winter consumer market

The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that "it is necessary to stimulate potential consumption, expand profitable investment, and form a virtuous circle in which consumption and investment promote each other." ”

Since the beginning of this year, various localities and departments have introduced a series of policies and measures to promote consumption, optimize consumption supply, innovate consumption scenarios, vigorously develop digital consumption, green consumption, and healthy consumption, and actively cultivate new consumption growth points such as smart homes and domestic "trendy products", boost consumer confidence, and promote the continuous recovery and expansion of consumption. Next, how to further cultivate and expand new consumption, how to stimulate greater potential of consumption, the reporter conducted an interview.

Skiers ski at Vanke Songhua Lake Resort in Jilin City, Jilin Province (photo taken on November 25). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Chang

Since the beginning of winter, the consumption of ice and snow has heated up. More and more consumers are entering the ski resort to enjoy the fun of ice and snow. A series of "ice and snow +" new products and scenarios have emerged in various places, enriching people's experience of ice and snow consumption, driving the rapid growth of ice and snow consumption, and becoming the growth point of the winter consumption market.

Accelerate the integrated development of ice and snow tourism and ice and snow sports, ice and snow culture, and ice and snow equipment manufacturing

"Ice and snow sports are very hot. "In the Keketuohai International Ski Resort in Fuyun County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang, on the tracks of all levels, skiers are enjoying the fun of sports. "This year is noticeably more lively than usual, especially on the beginner slopes, where many tourists come to try snow sports. Feng Kai, executive deputy general manager of the resort, said that after the ski resort opened on October 1, it received about 2,000 tourists every day, and this year it has received more than 100,000 tourists.

In the penguin pavilion of Harbin Polar Park in Heilongjiang, as soon as the keeper with the food in his hand appeared, he was surrounded by little penguins. Ms. Hu and her daughter, a tourist from Yulin, Shaanxi Province, were fascinated by the sight. "I've never seen penguins before, so I brought my children to check in, not only had fun, but also learned a lot, which is very suitable for parent-child travel. Ms. Hu said.

Ice and snow tourism and ice and snow consumption in mainland China have ushered in rapid development. The "14th Five-Year Plan for Tourism Development" proposes to "vigorously promote the development of ice and snow tourism, improve the system of ice and snow tourism service facilities, accelerate the integrated development of ice and snow tourism and ice and snow sports, ice and snow culture, and ice and snow equipment manufacturing, and build a number of national ski tourism resorts and ice and snow tourism bases." "At present, the ice and snow consumer market continues to increase supply-side investment and effective supply, while the demand-side market has a strong foundation and strong overall demand.

Ice and snow consumption investment is changing from simple scale expansion to connotative development of quality improvement and expansion. Feng Kai introduced that in this year's snow season, the ski resort has comprehensively upgraded the original ski slopes and added 4 ski slopes. The newly renovated ski park and glow-in-the-dark trails offer new experiences and are well received by the majority of snow lovers. "We have invited professionals to conduct pre-job training for all employees, and the service has been greatly improved, and it is expected to receive 300,000 visitors this year. Feng Kai said.

In recent years, Altay has invested more than 7 billion yuan in the construction of 10 alpine, cross-country and wild snow resorts, and developed four major international ski resorts such as Jiangjun Mountain and Keketuohai and Yekaxia Wild Snow Park. "We have accelerated the construction of ice and snow projects and completed an investment of 550 million yuan throughout the year. Li Yuanhao, deputy director of the Altay Regional Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio and Tourism, said that 10 new ski trails have been added this year, and new formats such as jumping groups, snowboard parks, and mountain U-shaped troughs have been built. It has opened direct flights to Altay from Guangzhou, Beijing and other places, and 71 hotels, homestays and residences have been newly put into operation, with 3,685 new rooms and 6,578 beds, so as to better ensure the travel experience of tourists.

High-quality supply continues to stimulate consumer enthusiasm. According to data from Meituan Dianping, in November, the number of searches related to "skiing" increased sharply year-on-year, and the number of ski ticket group purchase orders increased by 788% compared with the same period in 2019. According to Ctrip data, the number of bookings for "skiing" tickets until the end of this year increased by 113% week-on-week, nearly tripling from the same period last year, and the number of bookings for "skiing" themed group tours increased by about 70% week-on-week, an increase of nearly 30% from the same period last year.

Enjoy the fun of ice and snow, ice and snow equipment is a necessity, and ice and snow sports have driven the sales of related goods. In the first week of December, the search popularity of "skiing" increased by 14 times year-on-year, and the sales of ski equipment, including ski clothes and ski boots, continued to increase significantly compared with the same period last month, of which the sales of ski clothing increased by more than 120% year-on-year, the sales of ski goggles increased by 310% year-on-year, and the number of snowboard orders increased by 130% year-on-year.

With more high-quality and richer experiences, ice and snow consumption continues to expand

"Speed skiing trails, alpine ski tubing, snow mazes, snowmobiles, you can't get enough of it. In the Ice and Snow Fun Park in Suibin County, Heilongjiang, Wu Yixia, a tourist from Yunnan, said excitedly.

Walking into the Suibin County Ice and Snow Joy Park, the snow sculptures of the Year of the Dragon and the ice lanterns with goose patterns are very eye-catching, and in the snow sculpture exhibition area, there are beautiful snow sculptures such as edelweiss and snow babies. Walking along the colorful promenade lined with windmills, there are a variety of ice and snow attractions to enjoy. This year, Suibin County has continuously enriched and improved the consumer experience in a combination of "tourism + ice and snow + competition", setting off an upsurge of national participation in ice and snow sports, ice and snow fitness, and ice and snow tourism.

"We strive to do a good job in 'ice and snow +' and '+ ice and snow' articles, and take the development of ice and snow economy as a new growth point. Wang Hongxin, director of the Harbin Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, introduced that this year, the Harbin Ice and Snow Season will take "Dating Harbin, Ice and Snow Warm World" as the theme, with the theme of "Visiting the Ice City in the Year of the Dragon, Welcoming the Asian Winter Together" as the main line, and laying out the four major activities of "Meeting in the Ice City", "Ice and Snow Singing Together", "Family Carnival in the Year of the Dragon" and "Spring Snow Sending Chunhui", and building a series of activities in seven major sectors: ice and snow festivals, ice and snow culture, ice and snow art, ice and snow sports, ice and snow economy and trade, ice and snow fashion creativity and mass ice and snow, and launched more than 100 ice and snow projects.

From November 8, 2023 to February 28, 2024, Heilongjiang Province will carry out the "100-day action" for winter ice and snow tourism, launch 60 specific measures, and innovate the "cultural tourism experience officer" system, transform the advantages of ice and snow resources into tourism market advantages, build Heilongjiang into an international ice and snow tourism resort, seize the post-Winter Olympics era and the golden development period of the 9th Asian Winter Games, promote the high-quality development of the ice and snow economy, and continue to release new advantages in green development.

In order to better serve ski enthusiasts from all over the world, Altay has made efforts in both hardware and software this year. "I'm amazed by how it changes every year, and the construction of the ski resort is getting better every year. Yu Momo, a skiing enthusiast from Ningxia, said that as soon as the ski resort opened this year, he came early to experience it.

"In terms of hardware, we continue to improve our reception service facilities. Li Yuanhao said, including the normalization of snow and ice removal on major roads, the prevention of snow disasters and avalanches, the construction of green channels for medical assistance in ski resorts, tourism micro-promotion and other special actions, to promote the opening of Altay Airport, railway station to Jiangjun Mountain Ski Resort through train, and at the same time mobilize hotels to establish hotel service vehicles through self-purchase, leasing and other forms. Each ski resort has also accelerated the improvement of service facilities, opened 34 brand ski shops, introduced on-site services such as SF Express, Debang and Post, and opened flavor restaurants, beverage shops, supermarkets and specialty shopping stores to meet the diversified needs of tourists.

In terms of "service software" improvement, Altay carried out vocational skills improvement training for employees in the tourism industry, involving 4,119 person-times in 12 occupations such as ski instructors, room service, and Chinese cooking. "We have increased the basic ability improvement and policy support for tourism-related vocational skills training, applied for the establishment of social sports instructor (alpine skiing) training and evaluation qualifications, and trained 260 people. 8 vocational skills competitions were held, with a total of 512 participants. Li Yuanhao said that this year will continue to enrich the winter tourism industry, and hold 20 winter brand activities such as the Xinjiang Hot Snow Festival, the first Winter Games around the Altai Mountains, and the Fuhai Winter Fishing Festival, so as to drive the continuous expansion of ice and snow consumption with more high-quality and rich experiences.

Ice and snow resources are integrated with cultural resources to play a stronger driving role

From a national point of view, areas with abundant ice and snow resources often have outstanding folk cultural characteristics. Some places have integrated ice and snow resources with local cultural resources to form unique ice and snow tourism products, which have a more obvious empowerment effect and play a stronger driving role.

"Tourists not only come to our scenic spots, but also look forward to a more diversified ice and snow consumption experience. Dai Rui, general manager of Harbin Polar Park, said that this year, it can be clearly felt that the winter tourism season has been advanced, the proportion of foreign tourists and young tourists is higher, and the consumption capacity has also improved. As of early December, footfall increased by 212% year-on-year, and revenue increased by 224% year-on-year. The surrounding hotel supporting facilities and a series of cultural and creative products can drive the local economic development.

Ice and snow consumption and ice and snow sports have "boomed" the popularity of surrounding B&Bs and hot spring hotels. According to Meituan data, the number of bookings for hot spring hotels before New Year's Day increased by 250% year-on-year, and rooms on holidays are even more popular, and many rooms have been preemptively booked.

Liu Min, a professor at the School of Tourism of Beijing Union University, believes that ice and snow sports and ice and snow consumption have become a normal fashion lifestyle for many consumers. It is necessary to keep up with the demand trend and take advantage of the situation to further expand the consumption of ice and snow.

"The social nature of ice and snow consumption is constantly strengthening. According to the relevant person in charge of Dewu, ice and snow sports and ice and snow consumption are becoming daily, and more young people are turning ice and snow sports into a social activity. For example, the young consumer group represented by the post-95 generation pays more attention to the sense of experience, not only pursuing textured ski equipment, but also keen to share the trendy lifestyle of skiing through various ways, driving the formation of a larger consumer group.

With the construction of large-scale indoor ice and snow commercial complexes in Guangzhou, Kunming, Chongqing, Chengdu and other cities, the potential of ice and snow consumption will be released nationwide and drive the better development of related industries.

According to data from Meituan Dianping, this year's snow season, indoor skiing, ice and snow parks and other ice and snow tourism products in East China and South China have shown higher popularity. In November, the number of searches related to "indoor skiing" in Guangdong increased by 295% year-on-year.

There is a lot of room for growth in the demand for high-quality and diversified ice and snow consumption. The "China Ice and Snow Tourism Development Report (2023)" released by the China Tourism Academy predicts that in the ice and snow season from 2024 to 2025, the number of ice and snow leisure tourists in the mainland is expected to reach 520 million, and the income of ice and snow leisure tourism will reach 720 billion yuan.

According to the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, it will work with relevant departments to implement the "14th Five-Year Plan" for tourism development, and take the construction of ski tourism resorts as an important starting point to promote the continuous expansion of ice and snow consumption. On the one hand, we will continue to launch high-quality ice and snow tourism products, continue to launch high-quality ski tourism resorts with good ski resort resources and can meet the needs of tourists for health and leisure and entertainment, support qualified areas to increase the construction of ice and snow tourism destinations, improve the level of products and services, promote the creation of ice and snow themed A-level tourist attractions and tourist resorts, and give full play to the advantages of ice and snow resources to create characteristic boutiques. On the other hand, it is necessary to further improve the standard system of ice and snow tourism, build ice and snow tourism brands, guide local governments to strengthen the construction of commercial supporting facilities for winter ice and snow tourism, improve the accessibility and comfort of ice and snow tourism destinations, improve the service capabilities of relevant hotels, homestays, restaurants, travel agencies, etc., expand the supply of high-quality ice and snow tourism products, and better meet the ice and snow consumption needs of tourists.

Transferred from: Xinhua News Agency client

Source: People's Daily