Sports Big Business No. 2690, welcome to pay attention to the leading sports industry information platform
Wen | Zhang Tan
Sports big business reporter
Breathe in the crisp air and descend from the snow-capped peaks to the damping beat of the snow as if soaring among the mountains. Alpine and snow, cheese and wine, have become a business card of the Alps, and the development of skiing is inseparable from the historical accumulation of the Alps.
The special ecological environment in mountainous areas has created special cultural customs. Skiing has gradually evolved from one of the daily travel methods of locals to a leisure sport for the rich, and gradually grown into a mass leisure project in the post-war economic development. From the harsh natural environment, the "new wave movement" was created.
The earliest ski culture actually originated in Northern Europe. Since the 1880s, Alpine skiing (downhill skiing), which is more exciting than sledding and ice skating, has gradually become popular. The Alps also replaced Northern Europe as the center of skiing. In the first few Winter Olympics, Nordic skiing was still dominant. Since 1936, alpine skiing has been a Winter Olympic sport. In the 1950s and 1960s, a series of technological reforms, such as changing skis to metal, ski boots to plastic, and better ski clothes, further popularized alpine skiing.
The Alps living on the snow
Of the 23 Winter Olympics in history, 6 have been in North America, 3 in East Asia (plus the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, 4 in total), and the remaining 14 in Europe, 11 of which were in the Alps. The stretch of the Alps has supported half of the history of the Winter Olympics. Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria and other countries have formed a mature ice and snow resort industry chain around the Alps.
Historically, the Alpine region has hosted 11 Winter Olympics
According to statistics, the annual output value of winter ice and snow sports in Europe is more than 33 billion euros, and the global total output value is 69 billion euros. Among them, the Alps have the world's largest ski market, and the number of tourists receives more than 40% of the world's total.
The Alpine region accounts for the highest share of the world ski market
The Alpine region is home to 80% of the world's top ski resorts, according to the Global Annual Report on Snow, Snow and Mountain Sports 2021
According to the "2021 Global Annual Report on Ice, Snow and Alpine Sports", the number of snow fields in the Alpine region is also far ahead in the world. The number of top large ski resorts accounts for 80% of the world's total.
Ski resorts with more than one million annual visitors, data from the "2020 Global Ice, Snow and Mountain Sports Annual Report"
Large ski resorts with more than a million ski trips a year, Austria and France have the largest numbers, followed by Italy and Switzerland.
Number of ski resorts with more than 4 towing facilities in various countries, data from the "2021 Global Annual Report on Snow, Ice and Mountain Sports"
There are more than 2,000 ski resorts equipped with at least four or more towing facilities in the world, and the number of ski resorts in the United States, Japan, France, Italy, and Austria has reached more than 200. Switzerland has 90 seats, but the density is among the highest.
When it comes to ski towns, people often think of Switzerland, a country with a land area of only 41,000 square kilometers, about 2/3 of the country is mountainous, with 13 rack railways, 50 mountain lifts, more than 200 ski resorts, 600 aerial ropeways, 1,200 mountain cranes, 4,000 professional ski instructors, which is a ski paradise and one of the European ice and snow sports centers.
The proportion of the ski industry in the Swiss cantons
According to swiss data, the cantons of Valais, Graubünden and Bern are the best places to carry out ice and snow tourism, accounting for 34%, 30% and 15% of the country respectively. The seasonality of ice and snow sports also makes ice and snow tourism appear seasonal.
Between 2018 and 2019, the Cantons of Valais, Graubünden and bern accounted for 54% of the country's hotel occupancy. For the four months of December-March, Graubünden hotels account for half of the year's stays.
As a theme, ice and snow have driven the service industry of ski resorts not only to hotels, but also to catering, local specialties, etc., bringing economic benefits in all aspects. In the Alps, the average spend on snow holiday trips is more than 1,000 euros per week.
In the Swiss Alps, snow-driven tourism accounts for 1/5 of local GDP, and related workers account for 1/4 of the local workforce. Every winter, snow tourism generates around 1% of Switzerland's GDP, amounting to around CHF 5 billion (about 35 billion yuan). In the case of ski resorts, the total turnover of tourist transport facilities and skiing is about 1.5 billion Swiss francs per year, employing more than 17,000 people.
In the proportion of tourists, about 2/3 of the tourists in The Swiss Ski Resort are from the mainland, and foreign tourists are mainly from Germany, britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and other European countries, as well as the United States.
Swiss ski industry data
Switzerland's ski resort industry is outstanding, with a long history, complete supporting services, and the advantage of skiing for almost all. Whether it is training, sightseeing, emergency and medical treatment, there are very complete supporting guarantees.
As a neighbor of Switzerland, although it started late, Italian skiing is also mature.
Since the epidemic, Italy's ski industry has suffered a serious decline last year due to the ban on ski resorts due to control measures, but with the control of the epidemic and the government's rescue, it is expected to "return to snow" this winter.
Although the proportion of ski participants in the total population, Italy can not compare with Switzerland, Austria and other countries, but the reason is that Italy's mountainous area suitable for outdoor ice and snow sports accounts for a small area. If you only compare the Alps, the differences between countries are not large.
People in Austria and Switzerland participate in skiing by 2 and 1.5 times a year, respectively, truly participating for all
The United States, France, Austria, Japan, Italy and Switzerland are the countries with the largest total number of skiers. The countries with the highest number of skiers per capita are Austria and Switzerland. Austrian residents ski twice a year, compared to 1.5 skis per capita in Switzerland, almost all of them participate in snow and ice.
It is worth mentioning that in the Alps, the average price of Swiss ski resorts is about 30% higher than that of France and Austria, and about 50% more expensive than Italian ski resorts. Since the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, a number of ski resorts have emerged in Italy, and many places in the northern mountains have invested in ice and snow sports infrastructure. Full competition also makes the price of the ski resort more affordable.
Beijing Winter Olympics or hatching "Chinese Alps"
Compared with the Alpine regions, which have a long history, the East Asian countries are "latecomers" in modern skiing, but the market is also growing rapidly. In the new era, skiing has appeared in non-traditional ski areas with a cool attitude and gained a lot of fans.
After the Winter Olympics were held in Japan and South Korea, ski infrastructure, participation, and popularity have increased. Before the epidemic, Hokkaido and other places have created a relatively mature ski holiday trip, which has also attracted the attention of many Chinese ski enthusiasts.
Skiing + hot springs + food is the holiday business card created by the Alpine region. The prosperity of the ice and snow industry has also led to the growth of the service industry in mountainous areas. In Japan, South Korea and North America, snow-themed vacation trips have also achieved good market results.
As a holiday travel theme, skiing is often accompanied by elements such as hot springs + special cuisine
The FIS also has high hopes for the East Asian market, especially the Chinese market. On September 28, the ITU China office was inaugurated in Beijing, becoming the world's first overseas organization of the FIS. Since the successful bids of Beijing and Zhangjiakou for the Winter Olympics, China's skiing popularity has increased significantly compared with before.
Data from indoor ski venues in the 2021 Global Snow, Snow and Mountain Sports Annual Report
In the statistics on the number of indoor venues in the 2021 Global Ice, Snow and Mountain Sports Annual Report, China has the largest number of indoor ski venues in the world (36), while indoor ski venues in the Asia-Pacific region account for 58% of the world.
This data shows that cities that do not have skiing conditions outdoors, because there is no international top well-known ski resort in China, ski + travel or be replaced by the local indoor ski part.
China Ski Industry Data from the 2021 Global Annual Report on Snow, Snow and Mountain Sports
From the number of venues in the "2021 Global Ice and Mountain Sports Annual Report" data, the number of skis per capita per year, etc., it can be seen that China's current ice and snow market is still in the initial stage of development. Although there are not many ski slopes, in general, there are relatively few with complete top-notch facilities.
With the driving role of the Beijing Winter Olympics, China's Beijing-Zhang area is expected to become a new popular destination for skiing. In addition to a number of new high-standard ski resorts in Chongli and other areas in recent years, the surrounding supporting facilities and service capabilities of natural ski resorts have also been greatly improved with the approaching Of the Winter Olympics. Places such as Chongli in Zhangjiakou have also been included in Beijing's 1-hour traffic circle.
Natural venues, coupled with convenient transportation, high-quality supporting services, and the publicity effect brought by the Winter Olympics, the Beijing-Zhang area may become the "Chinese Alps" for ski enthusiasts.
Note: The images used in this article are from the Internet