Beijing 2022: China targets domestic winter sports tourism boom after Olympics; ski resorts unable to compete with Japan and South Korea
- China-based market research firm Daxue says Beijing Games will mark a significant milestone in mainland’s efforts to develop winter sports
- Government wants the industry to be valued at 1 trillion yuan by 2025 with 300 million citizens involved
China’s post-Beijing 2022 winter sports boom is expected to be fuelled by domestic consumers because the country will still struggle to compete with mature markets such as Japan and South Korea, according to a mainland-based consultant.
Allison Malmsten, marketing director at China-based market research firm Daxue Consulting, said the Winter Olympics in Beijing next month would help to accelerate the growth of snow sports on the mainland, which has spent several years developing its infrastructure.
“The main targets of China’s winter sports destinations are going to be domestic tourists, not overseas,” Malmsten told the Post. “Small resorts wouldn’t compete with other Asia ski destinations that are more established and easier for foreigners to access, like Japan’s Niseko mountain which has a vertical drop of around 920 metres.”
She said around 76 per cent of the ski resorts in China do not have a vertical drop of more than 100 metres, while only four per cent of resorts have a vertical drop of more than 300 metres.
Vertical drops reflect the difference in height between the start of a hill down to where the route flattens out. It does not take into account the gradient or difficulty level. Still, China has big plans to develop its winter sports industry after the Games and has already gained a head start.
Malmsten said the government’s goal was to have 300 million Chinese citizens involved in winter sports, and the country had gone on a ski resort building sprint over the past 10 years. She said in 2002, China had 130 ski resorts, rising to 770 in 2019, just 30 short of a target of 800 by 2022.
