People snowboard at a ski resort in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 5, 2022.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
The Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has planned to issue more than 50,000 coupons to boost the recovery of the region’s winter sports and tourism industries, the China Media Group (CMG) reported on Sunday. 

The issuances were arranged from late December to February 2023, and first round issuance will start on December 20. The coupons can be used in 10 popular ski resorts in the region, and the total subsidy worth of 4 million yuan ($574,800), the report said.

Libraries, cultural centers, art galleries and other public cultural venues at the region have reopened to the public. Cultural venues and tourist spots will stop check visitors’ negative nucleic acid test results or health codes, and will halt arranging nucleic acid tests for visitors upon arrival, reports said. 

“There has been a marked increase in visitors’ inquiries recently, asking about different travel packages and prices,” a tourist agency, who preferred to be unnamed, told the Global Times on Sunday.

A mini group tour for two people costs 4,900 yuan per person, the agency said, taking one six-day package for instance. Some keen skiers want to spend two or more days in ski resorts, and it is recommended for them to arrive earlier at the resort and then join our groups, he added.

The package includes a half-day skiing at a resort in Hemu county. The agency introduced that it starts to snow since late September or early October in Hemu every year and won't start melting until April or May next year. 

The long snowing period and great snow quality are great advantages of Xinjiang’s ski resorts, which could help boost the recovery and growth of the region’s tourism in winter, Jiang Yiyi, deputy head of the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism under the Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The period of May to October has been a traditional hot season for Xinjiang’s tourism sector. By promoting the growth of winter sports and tourism could further lengthen the hot season and increase revenue of the industry, Jiang noted.

In the long term, the region could further enhance the construction of matched facilities, including transportation and hotels, so as to attract more visitors from different places, Jiang suggested.

Even before the winter season started, Xinjiang had stepped up efforts to promote the growth of its winter sports and tourism industry. Xinjiang has joined hands with others northern China’s provinces and regions to carry out a overseas promotion event which will last until January 2023.

Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang region, has seen accelerating recovery of its tourism industry, with 13 A-grade tourist areas and two S-grade ski resorts reopened as of Saturday. The 12-square kilometers Silkroad Ski Resort reopened on December 4 and accepted 1,358 visitors on the day and 5,018 visitors on the next day, according to local news site xinjiangnet.com.cn.