Sustainable development
"In addition, a large number of venues built under the influence of the Beijing Winter Olympics, including outdoor and indoor ski resorts, have also laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of skiing in China from the perspective of supply."
While Olympic boom legacies can bring a high value-added platform to ski learning and promote the popularization of skiing, Vanat said the mindset of the people is also favorable to push further ski learning at school, as well as the organization and promotion of ski camps for young people.
He suggested another aspect that needs to be nurtured is the growth of family ski holidays.
"But this needs to be done wisely, to avoid sending early beginners straight into the mountains, where they will be displeased and definitely finish their ski career with a bad experience."
Instead, he said, he would like to see families first turn to urban or peri-urban ski learning facilities to learn about skiing before venturing onto real mountains.
Alpine destinations are confident the mushrooming growth of the ice and snow sector could have a knock-on benefit for ski resorts in Europe.
The country's rapid development of winter sports has led to a growing number of Chinese people visiting overseas destinations during the winter, a boon that many European destinations enjoyed in the years before COVID-19.
Austria welcomed 1 million Chinese travelers in 2019, the Austrian National Tourist Office said.
"That means within 10 years before the pandemic, the number of Chinese guests in Austria grew by 400 percent," said Emanuel Lehner-Telic, the office's head of markets Asia-Pacific. During the winter season of 2018-19, Austria welcomed 340,000 visitors from China, almost 60 percent more than in the winter of 2014-15.
Statistics on Ski Resorts & Skier Visits TIANSHU CHEN/CHINA DAILY
Promising industry
China's winter leisure tourism industry is forecast to welcome more than 520 million visitors and generate revenue of more than 720 billion yuan ($105.51 billion) in the 2024-25 ice and snow season, the China Tourism Academy said.
Lehner-Telic said the Beijing Games were the first important step in turning winter sports into a long-term economic and tourism industry in China, as they created a passion for sports.
"Combined with the increasing need of a growing urban population for fresh air and experiences in a natural environment, all kinds of winter sports are an ideal way to recharge the batteries while maintaining a modern and healthy lifestyle."
With younger and more experienced travelers particularly interested in winter sports, uncovering more novel, less-mainstream destinations for more individualized experiences will be important, Lehner-Telic said.
"The Chinese market offers Austria an ideal opportunity to promote its hinterland and winter sport regions, and to adapt its products to attract guests for a longer stay."
Daniela Chiani, Greater China director at Switzerland Tourism, echoed the view and said, "The Beijing Olympic Games were definitely a great opportunity to promote snow sports and snow sports destinations."
The country recorded 1.4 million overnights from tourists coming from the Chinese mainland.
While the winter season is historically weaker for inbound travel from China, with more than 70 percent of Chinese travelers usually choosing to visit Switzerland in the summer, Chiani said the country enjoyed a more than 400 percent increase in winter overnights in the 10 years before the pandemic.
People might have a misconception that Switzerland is only for professional skiers, which is not the case, she said.
"The Swiss slopes are open for all levels and guests from all around the world — from complete beginners to experts — and many of our resorts even offer Chinese ski and snowboard instructors to make our guests feel more at ease."
Switzerland's national travel agency forecast that about 40 to 45 percent of its overnight stays will be from China by the end of this year, and said it hopes to see a full recovery of its ski industry by 2025-26.
