A skier participates in a snow game in Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei Province. Photo: VCG
Enthusiasm for winter sports and travel in China has been sparked by the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games scheduled for February, with bookings for ski resorts through January jumping more than 360 percent year-on-year, according to industry data on Wednesday.
Bookings for ski resorts nationwide for the November to January period increased by 363 percent compared with 2020, according to statistics released by online travel platform Trip.com on Wednesday.
China's vow to support 300 million people participate in winter sports has had an effect, as indoor ski resorts gain increasing popularity in southern parts of the nation, while the snowfields in northern China remain "hot" in the winter.
Ticket sales at several ski resorts in Southwest China's Sichuan and Yunnan provinces have surpassed pre-epidemic levels, according to domestic travel platform Qunar.
As of April, a total of 20.76 million people had skied within the previous year, an increase of 98.66 percent year-on-year, read an industry white paper.
Since November 4, the number of bookings for this winter has risen by 142 percent compared with the first 10 days of October.
Among this group of sports tourists are the so-called snowbirds who fly from northern China to warm cities in southern China almost every year. This segment has welcomed new members who were born in the 1990s and 2000s, per Trip.cpm.
The number of travel bookings from eastern and southern China - relatively warm regions - to northern, northeastern and northwestern China increased by 102 percent.
The Winter Olympic heat has also promoted the development of the ice and snow industry in China.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published preparations for the standardization working group of the snow and ice equipment industry, in a bid to boost the development of winter sports product makers.
A national ice and snow equipment inspection and testing center will be built to serve the winter sports equipment industry, said the ministry.
Global Times
