Icy tourism heats up regional economies

Around 240,000 people visited the Ice and Snow World in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, during the recent Spring Festival holiday (Jan 27-Feb 2), up 20 percent over the same period last year, according to local government data.

The growth in visitors wasn't just good news for the northeastern city's tourism sector; it also gave other industries such as hospitality, retail and transportation services a shot in the arm.

Sales of 15 major retailers and restaurants in the city amounted to 187 million yuan ($27 million; 25.6 million euros; 22 million), growing 10.6 percent year-on-year. Sales volume of local products was up 25 percent.

For the entire Spring Festival period, Harbin attracted up to 911,000 visitors, up 13.8 percent year-on-year, generating revenues of 2.16 billion yuan, 16.1 percent higher than the previous year.

"The 2017 CCTV Spring Festival Gala was a good advertisement for Ice and Snow World, as well as other Harbin ice tourism package, greatly adding to the value of intangible assets," said Dai Bin, dean of the China Tourism Academy.

"The performance of the 2017 CCTV Spring Festival Gala in the park contributed not only to improving the ice-themed tourism image of Harbin but also enhanced the city's soft power."

Meanwhile, the ice industry in neighboring Jilin province, with its ice springs, also attracted millions of visitors during the 2017 spring holiday.

The tourism income of Jilin has maintained 25 percent growth for six consecutive years, according to the government.

During this year's Spring Festival, Jilin took in almost 10 billion yuan in revenue from tourism businesses, 28 percent higher than the same period last year. There were 10.7 million visitors, a growth of 20 percent year-on-year.

"As the 2022 Winter Olympic in Beijing and Zhangjiakou is approaching, Jilin is going to take advantage of the ice industry as a new business growth engine, promoting the transformation and upgrading of the old industrial bases in China's northeastern region," said Yang Andi, director of the Jilin Tourism Development Commission.

Zheng Yiran contributed to the story.

Contact the writers at zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 02/24/2017 page25)