On January 7, Beijing welcomed its first significant snowfall of the winter, seemingly providing a beautiful backdrop for the "Vail Carnival" U.S. Ski Resort Promotion Week, jointly organized by Vail Resorts, the Nevada Tourism Board of the United States, and Beijing Junshan Ski Resort. The event, which runs from January 7 to 14, 2012, will last a week and be held at Junshan Ski Resort. During this period, two top American ski instructors from Vail Resorts will be on-site to provide free training to Chinese skiing enthusiasts. As the event fell on a weekend, in addition to skiing enthusiasts who came upon hearing the news, some industry elites and related professionals also attended.
Vail Resorts Management Company enjoys a high reputation globally in the ski industry, owning six world-class resorts in the United States: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone in Colorado, as well as Heavenly Ski Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in the Lake Tahoe area, which straddles the border between Nevada and California. Three-time World Cup overall champion and two-time medalist at the 2010 Winter Olympics, Lindsey Vonn, was trained at the Vail Ski School.
Mr. Bob Stinchcomb, Global Sales Vice President of Vail Resorts Management Company, said at today’s promotion event in Beijing: "Vail believes that skiing has great market potential in China. We are very pleased to introduce our resorts to China’s industry elites and related professionals here in Beijing Junshan. We have sent our best instructors — they come from the world’s top ski school — to help cultivate this market. We hope Chinese skiers will have the opportunity to visit the United States and experience our exceptional service and world-class ski facilities firsthand."
"In the United States, skiing is a very popular winter sport. Many people from age 5 to 70 enjoy the activity, making it highly suitable for family participation and an integral part of American family life. Every winter, many American families head out to ski resorts for vacations, and in ski destination cities, people often go skiing almost every day."
"Compared to the skiing industries in Europe and America, China’s skiing history spans only a short decade or so and is still in its early stages of development. However, the number of skiing enthusiasts is growing very rapidly," said Mr. He Ping, Chairman of Beijing Junshan Ski Resort. "Skiing is a very healthy and accessible sport. It not only improves physical fitness but also fosters a greater love for life. It suits everyone and is very easy to learn."
Due to limitations in China’s skiing conditions, currently Chinese skiing enthusiasts choose to go abroad for ski vacations in the winter. The United States is one of the top travel destinations for Chinese tourists, especially Nevada, which is a must-visit place. With the opening of China-U.S. tourism and a significant increase in visa approval rates, more and more Chinese are choosing to travel and vacation in the United States. "We need more and newer travel products to meet market demand," said travel agency experts who participated in this promotion event. "Skiing is currently the best product we need. We are very interested and confident in promoting it to the vast number of Chinese tourists. Through today’s event, we’ve fallen in love with this sport ourselves!"
For more information about Vail Resorts destinations, please visit the official Chinese website: www.snowusa.cn.