2022-02-16
John Koldowski
Mountain Project Director APAC, Club Med
Today, I would like to discuss with you the parameters and factors that need to be considered in the development of ice and snow tourism.
In fact, ice and snow tourism in China is already a winner. And the outlook for the continued successful development of the sector remains strongly positive despite the recent impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the impact of COVID-19, China’s ice and snow industry is still hot. According to a study conducted by Tsinghua University, from 2013 to 2019, the total industrial growth reached 259.8%, with an average annual growth rate of 23.8%, several times higher than the figure in 2013, and the growth was very rapid. In addition, in 2019, the number of ski trips was close to 21 million, which is also a very surprising number, and things will be even more exciting after the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
The state has made relevant plans for this purpose, and it is estimated that by 2025 the revenue from snow and ice tourism will reach RMB1 trillion, and the revenue from the ski sector will reach RMB26 billion, an increase of 500% over 2015.
Now, like many success stories in China, demand does not seem to be that much of an issue. Rather, it’s the management of that demand that requires special and careful consideration, especially now as consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious and aware and as policy developments begin to address those very same issues. It is essential that on the supply side, various sociocultural, economic and environmental impacts are considered with tangible and visible support being given to offset any human impacts that might be included in any long term development plans. The key words there must be tangible, must be visible. On the demand side, of course, the different needs and wants of the visitor must take a priority position. All of these require a sustained focus on risk assessment and management, as well as on adaptive capacity.
More and more visitors want to be a part of authentic experiences. And local communities with proper training and skills development can become an integral part of those experiences. Such authentic experiences need to be integrated into the ice and snow tourism in order to extend the product’s experiences across the low and the high seasons alike, in both big and small cities. Opportunities exist for winter; and ice and snow that offer cooler and natural environments for otherwise urbanized areas during the summer months. It needs to be considered that visitors and locals alike are properly protected against disease and infectious outbreaks as we have recently seen.
Amid social and cultural change, neighborhoods and communities are transformed accordingly. With the improvement of people’s living standards, their behavior will also change. Ice and snow tourism resources need to be protected and managed, and we should manage the resources properly.
While skiing is seasonal, employment itself does not have to be seasonal. Resorts can move to a summer season suite of products and services, thereby maintaining full local employment throughout the year. Is it possible and feasible for local ancillary business opportunities to be developed and supported with direct and indirect benefits flowing through the local community? From tea houses and coffee shops to restaurants and retail outlets, local businesses can offer services and experiences with that authentic flavor. These are very good channels for visitors to experience the local culture, and of course they can provide even job opportunities for the local labor force.
The interactions between locals and visitors will add to or subtract from the brand and identity of the place.
At the environmental level, questions of note include is there a significant and protected biodiversity? And is it well integrated into the overall experience? Also is the power and or water available? Does it come from renewable sources? If not, are the negative aspects properly offset?
To understand the market properly there must be contact with it, and the more continuous the better. The core objective should be to deliver such a unique and high level of service that visitors themselves become positive advocates or ambassadors for the product and themselves return each season. In many cases, we make a point of attracting new visitors but making light of creating better experiences and services for repeating customers. Technology can play a very important role, not only in attracting tourists, but also in providing good services to the local community. At present, the application of this technology has spread all fields. If we want to develop the ice and snow economy successfully, the technology must play an irreplaceable role.
In China, winter sports equipment alone is likely to be worth more than RMB20 billion annually by 2022, and to grasp these business opportunities, we need higher-level thinking, that is, we need to take into account the upstream and downstream influences. We can think seriously and deeply. What we have done before is one step thinking to seek a solution to the problem at sight; we should have long-term consideration in the future. We have jointly developed the sustainable benefits tourism initiative. We hope to better address tourism in “the new normal world” which is not going to be a straight and constant pathway, and under the new scenario, there are going to be ups and downs. So we need to be resilient.
Overall, with ice and snow tourism the issue will be how to maintain appropriate growth over a long term without reducing the natural and social assets of the sector. That is a job for strong, innovative and dedicated management. The one major differentiator in all of this, however, is service quality and service delivery. We should strive to realize the sustainable development of ice and snow tourism in China.
Thank you!