Nation's winter sports industry rides Olympic wave

As the countdown clock ticks for yet another Olympic Games, the winter sports industry in China is gaining pace, with stronger public involvement expected in the nation's preparations for participation in the sporting extravaganza scheduled next year in northern Italy.

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will open on Feb 6 at Milan's iconic San Siro Stadium, and run through Feb 22. While Chinese winter sports teams are training hard to maintain a competitive edge on the elite stage, the legacy of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is continuing to pay rich dividends at the grassroots level, with the winter sports industry recording robust business growth.

The bustling scenes of slope-shaping, snowmaking and staff training at five major ski resorts in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, which co-hosted the Olympics with Beijing in 2022, indicate an early-season boom. With temperatures plummeting below zero in Zhangjiakou, resort owners are racing against time to open for business by the weekend.

With China scheduled to host some international events in the coming months, including six legs of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation World Cup series, the revenue coffers at these winter resorts are expected to continue jingling.

According to a report released last week by the sports economy department of China's General Administration of Sport, the total market value of the nation's winter sports industry reached 970 billion yuan ($137 billion) in 2024. It is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan by the end of this year, staying well on course to hit the target of 1.5 trillion yuan, set by the State Council, China's Cabinet, by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period.

"Winter sports development has entered a new phase in our country," said Yang Xuedong, director of the sports economy department, while presenting the report. "Ice and snow sports and relevant leisure activities have become the most trending — and the fastest-growing — events among all outdoor sports."

Data from another report unveiled on Oct 16 at the World Winter Sports Expo 2025 in Beijing shows that during the 2024-25 winter, China recorded 187.5 billion yuan in revenue from public consumption of winter sports and relevant leisure activities, marking a year-on-year growth of 25 percent.

The huge attention riveted on Milano Cortina 2026, driven by the gold defense of China's reigning Olympic champions, such as freestyle skier Gu Ailing and snowboarding phenom Su Yiming, is expected to give public involvement in winter sports in China another boost.

According to Huo Jianjun, director-general of the China Tourist Attractions Association, winter sports tourism is predicted to generate an estimated total revenue of 630 billion yuan from ticketing, accommodation, catering and other relevant services in the 2025-26 season.

"With winter sports participation expanding to a wider region in the country, outside the traditional provinces in northeastern China, the tourism sector is taking advantage of more travels to new destinations," Huo said during the expo in Beijing.

Supported by surging public interest and robust market demand, international governing bodies and event promoters are bullish on the potential of China's winter sports growth, even with the global focus shifting to Italy for the 2026 Games, which will be held in Milan's urban area and around Cortina d'Ampezzo, located in the northern Italian province of Belluno.

Speaking to China Media Group on Monday, Roberto Padrin, president of Belluno, said: "We learned that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics helped bring millions of new skiers into the sport, getting more people involved in winter sports in general. I believe that after the Olympics are held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, we will welcome more guests from China."