Frozen slopes are hot news

Snow sports promise to transform 2022 Olympics venue Zhangjiakou into a magnet for tourists

China's snow and ice sports industry is growing rapidly in the run-up to the Winter Olympics in 2022.

According to the China National Tourism Administration, the country is expecting to see more than 300 million people involved in winter sports by 2022, creating 1 trillion yuan ($153.7 billion; 127.6 billion euros; ￡113.1 billion) market.

Indeed, 2022 has already brought changes to the local economies of host cities.

Take Zhangjiakou in Hebei province as an example. Since the prefecture-level city was selected as the major venue for the Games, people have been flocking to experience its resorts and snow-covered slopes.

According to the local tourism bureau, its Chongli district, with a population of 126,000, saw 3.5 million tourists in 2016, generating 2.5 billion yuan in revenue, up by 27 percent year-on-year.

Over the last two snow seasons in 2016 and 2017, the district hosted 2.67 million tourists, of whom 90 percent came for winter sports.

"Thanks to winter sports, Chongli has been recognized by the country and even the world," says Zhao Zan, head of the district.

The snow sports industry has also helped support local employment. One-sixth local population has been involved in snow sports or related fields concerning tourism, hospitality or food.

"We used to see visitors only in winter," says Liu Suying, 53, who operates a cottage lodge in Chongli. "Now we've had visitors throughout the year, and our annual income has doubled to 100,000 yuan."

According to the local government's financial report, in the past, over 75 percent of the local tax revenue came from the mining sector. In 2016, however, the tertiary sector, particularly snow sports and tourism, became the major source of revenue, accounting for 58.3 percent in the first three quarters.

Chongli has also become one of the country's largest snow resorts, with seven established snow venues. The latest, Galaxy Ski Resort, was launched toward the end of 2017.

Authorities of host cities have been striving to create the necessary infrastructure for the 2022 Games. Private and foreign investors are also tapping into the snow economy, as they foresee the Games bringing robust business growth.

"We've seen a growing number of Chinese, especially millennials, who are interested in snow sports and snow scenery," says Maria Yang, development director for the China market at the tourism bureau of Alberta, a snowy province in Canada.

Being an established snow destination, Alberta is eager to attract more Chinese tourists to try its top-grade natural ski slopes and to boost its local tourism.

"Over the years we've seen a dramatic increase - about 32 percent - in Chinese snow sports lovers visiting Alberta," she says.

China's slopes are also attracting an increasing number of skiers. Launched in 2013, Genting Resort Secret Garden, built by Malaysian resort and casino operator Genting Group, has been selected as the freestyle skiing and snowboarding venue for the Winter Olympics. It is also one of the most visited ski centers in Hebei.

During the snow season, over 2,500 visitors drive to the resort each day to test the world-class slopes. The resort is sparing no effort to prepare for the Olympics and to meet the growing demand for its services.

Benno Nager, chief operating officer of the resort, says the ski center is more than doubling the current 40 slopes to 90, while adding six cable cars to meet demand in the next two years.

"We've attracted enough tourists and we are able to provide them with places to stay overnight," says Nager. "But we can't leave them on the crowded slopes."

The resort is also expanding its hospitality capacity from 825 beds to more than 10,000.

"We need to not only prepare for the Games but also to handle the high volume of tourists attracted by them," he says.

"After the high-speed train services start between Beijing and Zhangjiakou, we expect to see more tourists to Chongli throughout the year."

In November 2017 alone, Genting hosted 19,989 people, up by 10 percent year-on-year.

But the opportunity to host the Winter Olympics has not come Genting's way easily. Zhao Qiong, marketing director of the resort, says the company has been preparing for the Games for over a decade.

"If you rewound 10 years, you would realize the head of Genting Group had already sensed the potential of Chongli as a host venue for the Winter Olympics," says Zhao. "We picked Chongli rather than Northeast China because Chongli is closer to Beijing. After the high-speed trains start to run, Chongli can be reached within one hour from Beijing.

"Before we started to build the resort in 2007, many senior staff of the group didn't support the idea because they said Chinese people were not interested in the Winter Olympics and the ski industry was not popular. They said such a plan was like daydreaming."

But now the potential of Zhangjiakou to become the country's snow sports capital has been widely recognized. Even three-time World Champion skier Jeremy Bloom acknowledges this. He recently visited with business associates, including ski resort software providers, training providers and equipment manufacturers, to scout for investment opportunities in Zhangjiakou.

"Zhangjiakou is the fastest-growing and most exciting outdoor market in the world right now," says Bloom. During his trip, he and his team signed contracts that are among 13 cooperation projects worth 40.6 billion yuan with the local government.

He also raised the question many investors in the snow sports industry are concerned about - how to turn first-timers into true lovers of snow sports?

"The only way to capitalize on a growing market and build for the long-term is by providing incredible experiences to visitors, and I'm not talking about athletes, but everyday consumers," he says.

"I've spent my entire life in the skiing and snowboarding world and have watched people fall in love, and fall out of love, with the sport." Chinese investors share his concerns.

Wu Bin, general manager of Beijing Carving Ski Equipment Co Ltd, says that in other countries with a mature snow sports industry, people will see snow sports as part of their lifestyle. But China is still at the stage of promoting such sports. Typically, skiing and snowboarding are included as part of a one-off tour package.

According to Wu, in 2016, 78 percent of skiers were newbies, down by 2 percent from 2015.

"How to turn those first-timers into regular players and finally make snow sports part of their lifestyle - that is what we need to address. From the supply side viewpoint, we need everyone in the industry chain to provide better service and give those users a better experience to maintain their interest," says Wu.

Contact the writer at renxiaojin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 01/05/2018 page21)