China's winter sports industry is rapidly growing as the ice-and-snow economy is projected to surpass a record 1 trillion yuan (137 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025, signaling vast market potential and cultural integration opportunities.
China's winter sports market is on a meteoric rise. According to the latest industry report, the scale of the country's ice-and-snow economy is expected to reach 970 billion yuan (133 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024 -- already the highest in history.
The Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing this month set the direction for economic development in 2025, which called for efforts to cultivate new consumption growth points in many areas including the ice and snow economy.
According to a set of guidelines issued by the General Office of the State Council in November, by 2027, the facilities for ice and snow sports will be more complete, the service level will be significantly improved, ice and snow sports will be carried out more widely, and China's international competitiveness in these sports will be further enhanced.
By 2030, the role of the ice and snow economy in expanding employment and promoting high-quality development will become more prominent, and ice and snow sports consumption will become an important growth point for expanding domestic demand.
The scale of the ice and snow economy is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan (205.5 billion U.S. dollars) by 2030, the guidelines said.
Last year, China recorded over 385 million winter leisure visits nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 38 percent, with related revenue up 50 percent, according to China Tourism Academy.
In Harbin of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province alone, the last snow season saw over 87 million visits, up 300 percent year on year, and 124.8 billion yuan (17 billion U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue, up 500 percent. The 25th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, in particular, received over 2.7 million tourists. Harbin is reputed as the "ice city" of China.
Beijing's hosting of the Winter Olympics, which spurred the engagement of over 300 million Chinese in winter sports, proved transformative. Gone are the days when only a niche northern community embraced such pursuits. Now, seniors and youngsters alike glide across ice rinks and swoosh down indoor slopes in places where real snowfall is seldom seen.
The proliferation of facilities has rendered winter sports, once an exotic and expensive pastime, more accessible than ever. Teenagers in warmer locations like Shanghai and Shenzhen now have regular training options for skating, ice hockey and other winter disciplines.
China's winter tourism boom ignites sharp surge in revenue
