Exercise has become part of modern life, and we’ve noticed subtle shifts in the demographic ratio and lifestyle between the “homebodies” and sports enthusiasts. They have naturally undergone a reorganization of interpersonal relationships—
everyone is now an “outdoor sports enthusiast,” which is further divided into many distinct subgroups such as the “running circle,” “skiing circle,” “diving circle”...
Some of these circles are even more finely categorized—for example, the “running circle” includes the “trail running circle” and the “road running circle”; the “skiing circle” is split into the “snowboarding circle” and the “alpine skiing circle,” while the “diving circle” is divided into the “freediving circle” and the “scuba diving circle”...
Regardless of the circle, these “sports enthusiasts” who have stepped out of their comfort zones not only focus on their beloved activities but also inevitably engage in regional vacation travel centered around those sports: tasting local cuisine, understanding regional culture, experiencing local customs, staying in local hotels, and participating in other aspects of local public social life—
thus, everyone becomes a true immersive traveler.
Therefore, even without looking at the data, just based on the above observations, the world is changing. Sports, outdoor activities, and travel are becoming a “trinity” of leisure lifestyle for some people, not only transforming their way of life but also placing higher demands on the industry.
As a result, various projects that align with this integration trend have emerged one after another, taking root in different regions across the country and becoming key focuses in regional planning and development. Nationwide, resort tourism areas have been developed based on local characteristics. Sports, outdoor activities, and travel have gradually merged into an inseparable fusion dish of color, aroma, and taste.
As early as 2015, ISPO SHANGHAI was the first to introduce a dedicated sports tourism concept zone and simultaneously held a sports tourism industry forum to promote the new “sports lifestyle.”
And in the upcoming winter, the main course of sports tourism is undoubtedly skiing. The 13th Asia Outdoor Trade Show & Snow Show, scheduled for February 15–18, 2017, influenced by the broader national sports trend, will place greater emphasis on the winter snow sports sector. At that time, there will be more exhibitors and a richer array of content on display.
The Winter Olympics serves as the perfect catalyst, with the ski travel and resort crowd growing rapidly
According to the “China Ski Industry White Paper” released by Wu Bin at the Asia-Pacific Ski Industry Forum held alongside ISPO BEIJING 2016, “In the 2014–2015 snow season, the number of domestic skier visits was 12.5 million(indoor ski venue data based on full-year 2014 figures), marking a 21.36% increase from the 2013–2014 season and a 98.41% rise compared to the 2009–2010 season.”
In terms of infrastructure, “the number of domestic ski resorts saw significant year-on-year growth in 2015, increasing by 23.48% compared to 2014. The total number of ski resorts in operation nationwide was 568, including 9 indoor ski venues (excluding various outdoor and indoor snow play parks), with 108 new ski resorts added compared to 2014.”
Regionally, this includes not only early-developed ski resorts like Yabuli and rising stars like Changbai Mountain and Chongli, but also the Greater Winter Olympics region centered around the Olympic competition zones. Even regions like East China and Southwest China have seen the emergence and successful operation of high-end ski resorts.
In fact, starting from 2011, some domestic ski resorts began to realize:skiing is a form of leisure, entertainment, and family vacation lifestyle, rather than the traditional perception of it as an extreme sport—a shift exemplified by the Wanda Changbai Mountain International Resort and the Chongli Genting Secret Garden Resort.
Later, the establishment of the Songhua Lake Vanke Ski Resort and the Chongli Taiwu Ski Resort Town further solidified the definition of ski vacations. In response to this change, ski resorts have made numerous adjustments in facilities such as accommodation, shopping, ski lessons, and hardware like cable cars, ski lodges, and the design of beginner and intermediate slopes.
Mature overseas ski industries serve as the primary reference
Compared to well-established international ski resort regions, the Alps have a ski population ratio of around 20%; Nordic regions exceed 25%; East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea stand at 9% and 6% respectively; North America’s United States at 4.6% and Canada at as high as 12.5%. In contrast, China’s current ratio is only0.4%, far below the ski population ratios of major global ski markets.
Precisely because of the maturity of foreign ski markets, more and more travelers are choosing ski-themed trips, with Chinese ski enthusiasts appearing at resorts in Japan, South Korea, Canada, the United States, and European countries like Switzerland, France, and Austria.
In response to this shift, ISPO actively collaborates with tourism boards worldwide to boost promotion of winter sports. Notably, the Swiss National Tourism Board and various regional tourism boards began recruiting seven Chinese ski instructors several years ago to be stationed at ski resorts across Switzerland. Ms. Hu Ying, Manager of the Canadian BC Tourism China Office, and Mr. Simon Bosshard, Director of the Swiss Tourism Board Asia-Pacific, also participated in ISPO SHANGHAI 2016 to foster exchanges with the Chinese ski market.
These efforts have significantly attracted numerous Chinese ski enthusiasts to visit; destinations like Japan’s Shiga Highlands, Hokkaido’s TOMAMU, and Appi Highlands have also done extensive work to attract tourists; meanwhile, the U.S.-based Vail Resorts has shown strong momentum in recent years.
Meanwhile, in early 2016, internationally renowned ski resorts such as Aspen Snowmass and Canada’s Whistler Blackcomb chose to participate in ISPO BEIJING to gain deeper insights into the Chinese market and strengthen cooperative exchanges. If you’re a longtime friend of ISPO, you’ll clearly notice the yearly changes, including those involving ski resorts, ski areas, local governments, and ski brands.
A series of services related to skiing have emerged as a result.
With the increasing number of people skiing abroad, companies specializing in such services have also sprung up. Examples include “Jieyao Travel,” part of the same group as the skiing app GOSKI, “Global Ski,” which offers customized specialty skiing tour routes, and some ski clubs that already have a well-established skiing community, such as “Aotian Extreme” and “United Ski”...
After China was confirmed to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, under the national ice and snow strategy framework, the number of skiing programs has increased and the industry has further upgraded. Ski resorts that are regionally distributed, systematically planned, and have long-term strategies will become key focuses for accelerating the industry.
For the entire industry, ski resorts are not only hubs for attracting visitors but also play important roles in skiing education and hosting skiing event IPs. Some powerful major investors, such as the Wanda Changbai Mountain International Ski Resort and the Vanke Songhua Lake Tourism Resort, use skiing to drive traffic and develop comprehensive businesses including skiing education, vacationing, hotels, and catering, forming a complete skiing resort ecosystem within the region.
They have played a particularly significant role in expanding the scale of the skiing industry, especially in adult skiing training and next-generation skiing training. They have also objectively introduced new destinations for family winter vacations. More notably, the planning of these large-scale projects has also fully considered the demand for outdoor sports and vacationing in other seasons, with the potential to become all-season sports and vacation tourism destinations. Family vacation travel has also become a key feature that the skiing industry needs to accommodate.
Meanwhile, those ski resorts with limited investment and a focus on short-term profits serve as a valuable supplement for skiing vacationers.
At the same time, according to the 2016 International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism published by Laurent Vanat, “In 2015, China had approximately 3.2 million indoor ski visits, second only to Germany, representing a growth rate as high as113.3%compared to 1.5 million visits in 2014,21.4%far exceeding the growth rate of total skiing visits.”
These widely distributed indoor skiing facilities have played a crucial role in stimulating interest in skiing among people in eastern and southern China, where it is less suitable to build large ski resorts, as well as in providing basic skiing training. This has also helped skiing evolve from a winter sport to an all-season activity, and has promoted the transition from skiing being a passion for a niche group of enthusiasts to a sport for the masses. These venues have also had a positive impact on next-generation skiing training.
In short, more and more people are embarking on theme-based outdoor sports vacations, which is an exciting development. At the same time, ISPO also hopes that the Winter Olympics will further encourage domestic audiences to fall in love with skiing and embrace the white skiing vacation mode in winter.