Significant boom

China has seen a significant boom in ice and snow sports in recent years, sparked by the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Despite the pandemic, the number of snow-related sports tourists in the country reached 254 million in the 2020-21 winter season, compared with 170 million five years ago. The number is projected to exceed 300.5 million for the 2021-22 winter season, with snow tourism revenue expected to amount to 323.3 billion yuan ($51.14 billion), according to the China Tourism Academy.

Experts said the Winter Olympics have been key to giving Chinese people a better understanding of winter sports and motivating them to take up such pursuits.

Hermann Winkler, founder of the SnowHowChina consultancy, which helps form winter sports partnerships between China and Alpine destinations, said, "The Winter Olympics is the biggest marketing campaign for winter sports China has ever seen, and the Games will mark a milestone for winter sports development in the nation and will continue growing from this solid base."

Winkler said he is confident that Beijing 2022 will not be the "beginning of the end", but the "end of the beginning" for winter sports in China.

Ahead of the Games, SnowHowChina published a report titled All Eyes on Beijing Winter Games－22 Projections. The report suggested that China is highly likely to be a leading sports nation globally and will probably become the top skiing nation, at least in terms of the number of participants, despite the uncertain situation caused by the pandemic and also the pressure of the Olympics.

In 2019, a total of 770 ski resorts were operating in China, one-third of which had opened in the past five years, according to the 2020 China Ski Industry White Paper. Experts believe the government can capitalize on the Olympics momentum and further popularize winter sports nationwide.

Laurent Vanat, author of the annual International Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism, who is based in Switzerland, said: "China will soon have nearly 1,000 ski areas, which is the highest number of any country in the world, so this is a good starting point. There are also skiing facilities throughout the country, even in places where there is no natural snow－so this is another asset."

Vanat said skiing has been promoted as a healthy sport, not just a trendy leisure pursuit. "Fashion changes, but much less, dedication to healthy sports," he added. "However, learning to ski must be fun and pleasant for beginners, so that they come back."

He said that stars such as 18-year-old freestyle skier Gu Ailing can help popularize skiing among young Chinese and ultimately attract more people to ice and snow sports.

"It may not be scientifically proven, but it has been noticed in other countries that there is a connection between the performance of national champions and young people's interest in skiing," Vanat said.

"For instance, in my country, Switzerland, we had well-known champions in the 1970s, when skiing became extremely popular."