With the successful conclusion of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, Chinese athletes have achieved historic breakthroughs, and China has also fulfilled its solemn promise to "drive 300 million people to go on ice and snow" to the world. According to the statistical survey report "Driving 300 million People to Participate in Ice and Snow Sports" released by the General Administration of Sport of China, the number of participants in ice and snow sports in China has reached 346 million, and China's ice and snow culture and tourism have also ushered in new development opportunities in this spring breeze. But there are also concerns in the industry: Will China's ice and snow cultural tourism experience a cooling off with the end of the Winter Olympics? With such questions in mind, "Amusement World" interviewed Wang Shigang, the head of Rongchuang Ice and Snow Brand, Zhang Hongchao, the Deputy General Manager of Yinji Cultural and Tourism Group's Market Center, and Zhang Qiyan, the founder and general manager of Harbin Ice Lantern Cultural and Tourism Development Co., Ltd., to jointly explore the development prospects of China's ice and snow culture and tourism in the post Winter Olympics era.
With more and more young people loving ice and snow sports, as well as the popularization of ice and snow sports nationwide, the market potential of ice and snow cultural tourism remains enormous. According to the statistical survey report "Driving 300 million People to Participate in Ice and Snow Sports", the participation rate of Chinese residents aged 18 and above in ice and snow sports is 26.95%. The number of participants in the traditional advantage areas of ice and snow sports in the north is 186 million, and the number of participants in the relatively unpopular areas of ice and snow sports in the south also reaches 161 million.
Sustainable development, retaining tourists is a key element
Of course, in an environment where the popularity of ice and snow tourism is not decreasing, practitioners still need to actively explore strategies to attract and retain tourists. In short, it is necessary to encourage tourists to "play and stay new" and participate throughout the year. Zhang Qiyan told "Amusement Park" that in order to retain tourists, ice and snow parks must set up various "ice and snow+" theme segments at the beginning of planning and design, such as ice and snow+cute pets, ice and snow+immersive performances, ice and snow+metaverse, and ice and snow+customized amusement equipment, in order to enhance ice and snow consumption, further explore the experiential value, cultural value, commercial value, etc. of ice and snow parks, and explore more innovative points.
Wang Shigang used the experience of Rongchuang Ice and Snow as an example to introduce the secret to maintaining attraction for tourists. In summary, it is: the coordinated development of indoor and outdoor snow fields, the formation of linkage effects, and deep cultivation of seasonal ice and snow. Specifically, it can be divided into the following three points:
① Creating a skiing scene that connects the north and south, with smooth skiing throughout the four seasons: laying out core customer sources nationwide and operating throughout the four seasons, making ice and snow sports a readily accessible activity for all ages.
② Layout outdoor ice and snow, integrating the advantages of multiple business formats to create high-quality ice and snow tourism destinations: carry out light asset operation and management output, integrate advantageous resources, break down the barriers between indoor and outdoor, southern and northern snow resorts, and provide the market with more innovative and diverse ice and snow tourism vacation products.
③ Exploring the field of composite consumption and establishing a "ice and snow+" multi industry chain: ice and snow events/entertainment products should gradually achieve brand upgrading and capacity output. Through refined operation and high-quality supply throughout the entire industry chain, cross-border cooperation and breakthrough operations should be carried out to create a comprehensive indoor and outdoor ice and snow consumption scene that integrates fitness and leisure, competition performances, sports training, and comprehensive tourism, accumulating energy for the high-quality development of the "post Winter Olympics era".
Silver based Ice and Snow World has added ice painting, ice ballet, curling battles and other related ice and snow sports experiences to its ice and snow product experience, as well as parent-child interactive ice and snow sports such as ice tug of war and ice dragon boat. "Fully considering the core customer base, fully exploring innovative points and enhancing the tourist experience based on the needs of the customer base itself, is the key to attracting and retaining customers," Zhang Hongchao added.
Solving Problems, Ice and Snow Tourism Has a Good Future
Although respondents unanimously believe that ice and snow tourism has a good future prospect, they also candidly point out the shortcomings of ice and snow tourism at present. Zhang Qiyan believes that there are four main problems: firstly, there is no unified industry design and construction standards for indoor ice and snow parks; Secondly, the selection and use of insulation materials are not standardized, and the quality of refrigeration unit brands is uneven, resulting in high electricity consumption; Furthermore, most projects use real ice sculptures, which increases the difficulty of later operation and maintenance. The frequency of updates for ice and snow parks is high, and the optimal display life cycle is short; Finally, the revisit rate is not high, and it has not been combined with mainstream modes such as graduate studies and immersive interactive experiences.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qiyan also provided targeted solutions:
① Urge official organizations to introduce relevant design and construction standards.
② Strictly follow the construction specifications of indoor children's parks, and choose professional after-sales suppliers for the selection of refrigeration units.
③ Multiple theme packaging forms such as imitation ice and plastic stone are combined to reduce later operation and maintenance costs.
④ Set up research content related to ice and snow and update it regularly, in conjunction with current popular topics.
In addition to issues related to construction and operation, there is also an urgent need to fill a large number of professional gaps in the industry, such as snowplow drivers, snow shapers, professional waxers, skiing coaches, etc. Zhang Hongchao believes that in addition to enhancing the tourist experience and creating high-quality amusement projects, precise customer positioning is still necessary. Meanwhile, Zhang Hongchao stated that ice and snow tourism still needs to increase the supply of high-end products and create indoor ice and snow parks that can overcome seasonal factors.
In summary, China's current ice and snow cultural tourism needs to solve four major problems: equipment grade, amusement projects, talent reserves, and seasonal operations. Only by solving these problems well can ice and snow cultural tourism have a better future. And "Amusement Park" believes that in an environment where 300 million people go on ice and snow, these problems will be solved step by step, and China will eventually move towards the path of becoming a great country for ice and snow amusement.
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