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Zhu Wenqian

With temperatures falling and holidays approaching, ski resorts across northern China are experiencing a surge in visitors from the south, a trend that is cheering airlines as well as resort operators including Malaysia-based Genting Group.
Since the ski season opened on November 15, the Changbai Beautiful China Resort in the northeast province of Jilin, a complex owned by China Green Development Group, has welcomed more than 110,000 visitors, marking a nearly 40 per cent year-on-year increase. More than 80 per cent of these tourists came from southern China, significantly higher than in previous years. The peak season is expected to run from Christmas through the Spring Festival.
The resort said this reflected southern consumers’ sustained interest in winter experiences, a key driver of the resort’s revenue growth.
“South China’s core source markets are concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, with major hubs including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou,” said Xia Yuan, brand development and marketing manager at the resort. “Besides skiing, our other attractions such as hot springs, art galleries and night tours have helped boost tourist traffic.”
Data from three of the resort’s hotels showed that women aged 30 to 39 formed the core customer segment among Greater Bay Area travellers, and the region’s tourists tended to stay longer than those from other areas.
The launch of the Shenyang-Changbaishan high-speed rail in September, coupled with expanded flight connectivity to ice-and-snow destinations, has significantly boosted travel convenience for southern tourists.

Hong Kong-Shenyang and Macau-Shenyang flight bookings in November jumped 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, from a year earlier, while Hong Kong-Urumqi bookings increased more than 40 per cent, according to data from Suzhou-based Tongcheng Travel.
Zhangjiakou, a co-host city of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics located around 100 miles northwest of the capital, is another major beneficiary of the snow tourism boom.
From November to the first week of December, ski bookings in Zhangjiakou surged 150 per cent year on year, topping destinations nationwide, according to Fliggy, the travel arm of Alibaba Group.
Compared with short-distance urban tours, winter-themed tours usually feature longer itineraries and higher prices. The expansion of such product offerings encouraged growing demand among travellers for colder destinations, and these experiences usually helped foster repeat visits thanks to their unique and immersive nature, Fliggy said.
Genting Snow Park, a Zhangjiakou-based ski resort owned by Malaysia’s Lim brothers – chairmen of VXL Group and Genting Group – has recorded a 30 to 40 per cent increase in skier numbers this year from a year earlier. Southern visitors accounted for 10 to 20 per cent of the total, a higher share than in previous seasons.
The influx is driven by interest in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February, as well as recent International Ski and Snowboard Federation matches and related activities held in Zhangjiakou.
The resort said many southern Chinese skiers have practised their skills at indoor venues this year in cities like Shenzhen – home to the world’s largest indoor ski facility, Qianhai Huafa Snow World, which opened in late September.
“Building on this foundation, skiers are eager to push their limits at authentic alpine ski resorts with longer trails and greater vertical drops,” said Zhao Qiong, general manager of Fengyun Zhangjiakou Sports Event Management.

Meantime, indoor ski venue Taicang Alps Resort, which is owned by Shanghai-based Fosun Tourism Group and located just an hour from Shanghai in Taicang in Jiangsu province, has recorded sales of more than 500 million yuan (US$70.8 million) and received more than 2 million tourists since it opened two years ago, according to the resort.
With a total investment exceeding 5 billion yuan, the resort broke ground on a second-phase expansion in June.
China targets a 1.2 trillion yuan snow and ice market – comprising travel and recreation as well as training, events and equipment manufacturing – by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, according to a directive by the State Council, China’s Cabinet. By then, the segment is expected to emerge as a key driver of domestic consumption growth.


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Ski resorts record big visitor increases as high-speed rail and flight expansions bring in those who have tried the sport in indoor venues


Ski resorts record big visitor increases as high-speed rail and flight expansions bring in those who have tried the sport in indoor venues.


China tourism: cold spots are hot tickets as southern residents head north to ski

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ski resorts record big visitor increases as high-speed rail and flight expansions bring in those who have tried the sport in indoor venues

Ski resorts record big visitor increases as high-speed rail and flight expansions bring in those who have tried the sport in indoor venues