Current location:health >>
Winter Olympics' legacy: Booming interest for ice and snow sports
health3People have gathered around
IntroductionTeenagers take ski lessons at a training base in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics' Zhangjiakou compe ...
Teenagers take ski lessons at a training base in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics' Zhangjiakou competition zone, North China's Hebei province, on Dec 15. [Photo by Chen Xiaodong/for China Daily]
Businesses benefit as tourism, equipment sales soar to 83.56 bln yuan despite pandemic's impact
In the countdown to the February start of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, ice and snow tourism has picked up among Chinese consumers.
The Games are also expected to fuel more opportunities for businesses in related fields. With the new snow season beginning in China, enthusiastic skiers and snowboarders have been eager to get back on the slopes.
One drag on the demand for some travel related to winter sports may be the small number of new cases of COVID-19 that have popped up sporadically in some regions. But that will depend on the pandemic prevention and control situation this winter, industry experts said.
Beijing and Zhangjiakou in Hebei province have established a group of venues to provide services for the Winter Games, including the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway. Over the long term, that infrastructure is expected to become additional assets for the country's tourism based on ice and snow.
The ski venues in Zhangjiakou, about 200 kilometers northwest of Beijing, will host the snow sports events of the Winter Games. In the past few years, the popularity of the ski resorts there has grown, although a few resorts will be closed for the Games next year.
A number of landmark Winter Games venues were designed with the idea of continuing to drive tourism after the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"Those venues are expected to become new hot spots after the Games. Aside from traditional sports such as ice-skating and skiing, more innovative entertainment is expected to emerge and create new experiences for consumers," said Cheng Chaogong, chief researcher with the tourism research institute of Suzhou-based online travel agency Tongcheng-eLong.
"The improvement of transportation facilities and other infrastructure has further expanded the growth potential of the cultural and tourism sector in Beijing and in surrounding areas. Zhangjiakou is set to become a landmark destination for winter tourism, and the winter tourism market in Beijing will also get a boost," Cheng said.
Previously, most people who went to ski slopes in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province were locals. With major new development in the region aimed at serving skiers, those resorts have been attracting more tourists from other parts of China.
Those tourists aren't just from North China. People from Shanghai and Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, for example, have shown a great deal of enthusiasm for the Winter Games and ice and snow tourism. The potential increase in the number of tourists from southern and eastern China is bound to give a boost to Beijing's tourism market, according to the Tongcheng-eLong institute.
The Winter Games events that tend to draw the greatest public interest include short track speed skating, speed skating, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and curling, experts said.
Ice and snow sports have become increasingly popular, and lots of people also like to participate in fun activities such as skipping rope in the snow, snow bowling and playing soccer in a field of snow.
Most of China's ice and snow tourism occurs in Northeast China, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. Besides ski resorts, those regions also have important attractions such as ice sculpting, ice fishing and ethnic cultures, Tongcheng-eLong said.
Tianjin Airlines recently opened new flights to skiing destinations in North China and in northwestern and northeastern areas of the country to boost ice and snow tourism.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Global Gateway news portal”。http://saintkittsandnevis.downmusic.org/html-13b299933.html
Related articles
Here comes the char
healthTom Holland enjoyed a post-show cup of tea and proudly waved to fans as he left the Duke of York's T ...
【health】
Read moreWorld benefits from greater China
healthThe 5 millionth vehicle of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd is seen in Tiexi district of Shenyang, Nort ...
【health】
Read moreBritish troops may be tasked with delivering Gaza aid, BBC report says
healthLONDON (AP) — British troops may be tasked with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore pier now und ...
【health】
Read more
Popular articles
Latest articles
Philippines blames China for loss of giant clams in disputed shoal and urges environmental inquiry
China opens 829 sites providing free pneumoconiosis treatment
Xie Lijun becomes CSL's first female referee
Macao announces schedule for election of Chief Executive Election Committee
Philippines blames China for loss of giant clams in disputed shoal and urges environmental inquiry
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim downing US Reaper drone
LINKS
- Kirill Kaprizov helps Wild end Kings' eight
- Israeli airstrikes kill 19 Palestinians in Gaza: Hamas
- China to establish modern eco
- Industry insiders say China indispensable to global supply chain
- 9 corpses found adrift in boat off Brazil were likely migrants from Mauritania and Mali, police say
- Xi's 'two sessions' messages highlight China's high
- Ancient Tibetan astronomy keeps shining
- Trump hush money trial: Why Americans can't see or hear what's going inside court
- China launches new remote sensing satellite
- Connor McDavid becomes 4th in NHL history with 100 assists as the Oilers rout the Sharks 9