Qianhai Winter Wonderland at MixC Shopping Center in Shenzhen, November 30, 2024
The ski season is in full swing in China. According to Meituan statistics, in November 2024, searches for ski resorts, ski lessons and winter sports equipment brands increased by 83%, 90% and 43% respectively compared to October 2024.
“Since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, enthusiasm for winter sports has continued to intensify in China,” said Zhou Jinqiang, vice-president of the Asian Games organizing committee. Harbin 2025 Winter Games and Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee. According to statistics from the General Administration of Sport of China, between February 2022 and April 2024, 313 million people participated in winter sports. “These approximately 300 million people provide a promising prospect for the ice and snow economy,” noted Wang Qiyan, director of the Leisure Economy Research Center at Renmin University of China.
Resource valorization
The recent Chinese enthusiasm for winter sports has boosted consumption and is contributing to the recovery of the cultural tourism market. In recent years, many cities have leveraged their resources to develop specific tourism products.
This winter, the city of Chengde (Hebei) is taking advantage of its snowfall, hot springs, folk customs and sports competitions to offer five high-end tourist circuits. Tacheng (Xinjiang), for its part, relies on its ski resorts to organize a diversity of activities combining culture, tourism and sport, to promote winter tourism.
In addition, the organization of several international winter sports competitions in China also promotes the development of the local economy. Since the beginning of 2024, the General Administration of Sport of China has organized a large number of activities related to these competitions, such as trips to host cities to boost the economy. “A multitude of winter sports activities will be held across the country to better meet people’s demand and boost the winter sports economy,” said Yang Xuedong, director of the Winter Sports Department. sports economics of the General Administration of Sport of China.
Winter sports equipment, made increasingly efficient thanks to technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, plays a crucial role. Currently, China is able to provide 15 major categories of such equipment that meet the needs of both amateurs and professionals.
Giant snowman at Qunli Riverside Musical Square in Harbin, Heilongjiang, December 17, 2024
A new growth engine
According to the Report on the Development of China’s Ice and Snow Industry in 2024, the scale of this industry increased from 270 billion yuan in 2015 to 970 billion yuan in 2024 and is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan in 2025. Also according to the report, during the 2023-2024 ski season, 385 million people did tourism. This figure could exceed 500 million during the 2024-2025 ski season, which would generate more than 700 billion yuan.
Additionally, a series of policies have been developed to enhance confidence in the market. In November 2024, the State Council issued a document on high-quality development of winter sports to promote the ice and snow economy. According to this document, China aims to make this economy a new growth pole, with the goal of reaching 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030. Peng Fuwei, head of the department of Social Development of the National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC), believes that the development of ice and snow economy can drive domestic demand, create new jobs and stimulate consumption. “The rapid development of the ice and snow economy is driven by the hosting of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, and this economy will become a new growth engine,” Wang Qiyan said.
High quality development
Currently, there is universal consensus on supporting the high-quality development of winter sports to promote the ice and snow economy. According to Wang Qiyan, the guidelines in the document are very precise and focused. For example, it is indicated that the improvement of industrial chains must rely on the valorization of the culture linked to ice and snow, which is the foundation of this economy and can stimulate its development.
The document also encourages the construction of land in parks, factories, warehouses or shopping centers, as well as the free or preferential opening of public stadiums to facilitate the practice of winter sports by the population. Upgrading winter sports facilities using energy-saving and low-carbon technologies is also proposed to promote the green development of the ice and snow industry.
According to Wang Qiyan, since the operating cost of ice and snow industry enterprises is high and the recovery time of invested capital is long, financing means should be increased to help these enterprises. to develop better. The number of companies in this sector increased from 300 in 2015 to some 900 in 2023, while their turnover also saw strong growth, from 5 billion yuan to 22 billion yuan.
An official from the General Administration of Sport of China said that after the Beijing Winter Olympics, more high-level winter sports competitions will be held across the country. The systematic development of these competitions will be encouraged with the help of culture, tourism and trade. In addition, China plans to improve the youth winter sports competition system, support mass sports competitions, and optimize the use of winter sports facilities.
*ZHANG LIJUAN is a journalist at China Report and WANG JUNSHI is an intern at China Report.
