The State Council has announced plans to grow China’s ice and snow economy to 1.5 trillion yuan ($208 billion) by 2030, with particular focuses on winter sports, tourism and equipment manufacturing.The scale of the target indicates a clear recognition of the sector’s untapped potential to boost its visibility and appeal, create a vibrant ecosystem that benefits a wide range of industries and drive economic growth in the world’s second-largest economy, analysts said.They speculated that the plan, if successful, could reshape global winter tourism trends and present new opportunities for international travelers, with China gradually emerging as a key player in the winter sports destination market.The announcement builds on China’s 2015 pledge to engage 300 million people in winter sports — a target reached before the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, with already 346 million participants by 2021.The growing popularity of winter sports among Chinese consumers, coupled with the government’s push to cultivate the ice and snow economy, could serve as a key driver of domestic demand and sustainable development, said Yang Xuedong, director of the Sports Economy Department of the General Administration of Sport.Inspiring young people to embrace ice and snow activities is crucial for the sector to truly take root and flourish in China. This demographic represents the future drivers of consumption and innovation in this space, analysts said.To this end, a key element of this push is greater support for middle and high schools, where conditions are ripe to incorporate ice and snow sports into physical education programs with more accessible facilities, according to the plan released by the State Council, China’s Cabinet.A national system of youth competitions will be introduced across various age groups, encouraging skills development and engagement from a young age, the plan said.Wang Zhaohong, associate dean at Beijing Normal University’s School of Physical Education and Sport, said these efforts are not just about producing world-class competitors but also about fostering a vibrant winter sports culture that can captivate global audiences.As more of China’s young athletes gain prominence on the global stage, the country’s reputation as a premier destination for winter sports enthusiasts is poised to soar, she added.In particular, the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang, as well as the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, can take the lead in transforming the northern part of China into a global epicenter for ice and snow-related economic activities, according to the plan.Wang Yuxiong, director of the China Center for Sport Industry Development Research, which is part of the Central University of Finance and Economics, said these northern regions possess the ideal climatic conditions, facilities and talent pools to spearhead China’s ambitions of becoming a winter sports powerhouse.Unlike a siloed or fragmented
Lun. Dic 23rd, 2024
