Snowsports Continue to Grow in China

22nd February 2024

Last modified on February 28th, 2024

The latest figures come from the General Administration of Sport of China and are reported in China Daily.

Revenue from related sports and other activities reaching 6.46 billion yuan ($898 million), up 543% year-on-year.

“This snow season has seen a 5 to 10 percent increase in both visitors and revenue compared to the previous year,” said CEO of Nanshan Ski Resort near Beijing, Hu Wei.

“To accommodate the growing influx of visitors, we’ve expanded our fleet with eight new snow machines.”

Since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, there has been a growth in new participants joining winter sports, he said.

“This was fuelled by the enduring excitement over snow, a precious resource in a country where many people reside in the southern part that does not receive much snowfall.”

The President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation , Johan Eliasch, has spoken of the rapid growth of China’s skiing and snowboard community.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Eliasch highlighted the great potential in China’s skiing and snowboard market.

He also mentioned the significant increase in the number of Chinese skiing enthusiasts, especially among the younger, tech-savvy generation.

“They will be young, digital natives who will be enthusiastic and bring an entirely new dimension to our sports,” Eliasch remarked, before acknowledging the achievements of Chinese athletes in several new skiing and snowboard disciplines.

“China is showing increasing promise and improving results in many of the FIS events. Specifically in our younger disciplines, such as freeski and snowboard, China is a strong contender, which bodes well for generating interest in the next generation of athletes.”

Beijing 2022. Image c/o IOC.

The FIS chief also expressed his desire to leverage the Olympic legacy of Beijing 2022 by bringing more international skiing events to China.

“We are working on using FIS venues well into the future and, for example, had a great Big Air event in Beijing and the successful implementation of the Aerials World Cup in Changchun last December,” he said.

The total number of operational ski resorts in China is 697.

They recorded 19.83 million skier visits in 2022/23.

Indoor ski resorts accounted for 7.17% of all operational ski resorts, contributing significantly to the total skier visits.