This winter, ice and snow tourism has become a “phenomenal internet celebrity”. From "Erbin" to Changbai Mountain, from Shenyang to Hulunbuir...trucks of cute "little potatoes" and "little kumquats" are pouring to the north, "capturing" major scenic spots, bathing centers, and morning markets. Directors of culture and tourism in various places also Seize the popularity and "make a living".
Why did ice and snow tourism suddenly become an “Internet celebrity”? Can “Internet Celebrities” Become “Eternally Popular”? "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters conducted investigative interviews.
Ice and snow fire out of the circle
The hot air balloon rising over the Songhua River, the artificial moon hanging over the Sophia Cathedral, the reindeer of the Oroqen people, the "well-behaved" Siberian tiger in the zoo... Harbin, which is ushering in the peak season of ice and snow tourism, has become this winter The most popular tourist city. Netizens expressed that "Erbin"'s hospitality is so warm that people can't resist it.
Innovative "flower work", meticulous service, and the enthusiasm of the locals... Today's Harbin is full of energy and steaming everywhere. Relevant statistics show that Harbin’s tourism popularity during the New Year’s Day holiday increased by 240% year-on-year. According to big data calculations, the city has more than 3 million tourists and achieved a total tourism revenue of 5.9 billion yuan, both reaching historical peaks.
On December 31, 2023, Central Street, a century-old street in Harbin, was crowded with people. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jianwei
"Hot and snowy" winter tourism scenes are spreading in many northern provinces and regions. In some "Internet celebrity" bathing centers in Shenyang, Liaoning, the halls are crowded with tourists who come to experience Northeastern bathing culture. In Jilin Province, the evergreen powder snow in the east, the hanging rime trees in the middle, and the ice lakes and fish in the west, all the "golden business cards" of ice and snow attract tourists in droves. Taking advantage of the hosting of the 14th National Winter Games, Inner Mongolia has also launched special ice and snow sports and ice and snow tourism projects.
"We took the free bus to the Ice and Snow World today, which was heart-warming." Zhao Wen, who came to Harbin from Dali, Yunnan, said that she was truly moved by the enthusiasm of Northeastern people during this trip.
Leng Bingxue brings fire to hot food. Northeastern food has many varieties and large portions, which closely resembles the bold and enthusiastic character of Northeastern people. A large iron pot with a diameter of half a meter was poured into the chicken wings, potatoes, ribs, beef brisket, corn and other ingredients. The room was steaming, which was like fireworks in the world.
"I like eating Northeastern food so much!" Ms. Liu from Jiangxi said that she heard that on snowy days, she had to eat goose stewed in an iron pot. Although she queued for more than an hour, she felt it was worth it. Yao Lilong, general manager of an iron pot stew chain store in Harbin, told reporters that many stores have issued an initiative to "not increase prices arbitrarily" and have launched services such as free hot tea and extended business hours.
After the Oroqen reindeer walked onto the Central Street of Harbin, they quickly achieved "diversion". "I was attracted by the Oroqen roe deer horn hat that is very popular on the Internet. It not only has cute costumes, rich culture, original natural landscapes, but also exciting and fun sports activities." Wearing the traditional Oroqen costume, said Zhang Ling, a tourist from Hebei who took pictures in the snow in the Oroqen Autonomous Banner of Inner Mongolia.
"Internet celebrities" still need to make up for their shortcomings to become "long-lasting"
It is no accident that ice and snow tourism is behind the fire in some Northeast cities.
"We spent a year 'training' to continuously enhance market-oriented thinking and service awareness." He Jing, director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said that starting from the beginning of 2023, the local area began to use new media platforms to invite cultural Bloggers at the head of the brigade promote Heilongjiang in multiple dimensions, such as Sophia Cathedral and Hongzhuan Street morning market, which have become "Internet celebrity" check-in places. At the same time, the local government pays attention to tourists' comments and improves whatever tourists are dissatisfied with. For example, some tourists said that it would be better to have a moon when taking photos at Sophia Cathedral, so the local government built a large artificial moon.
On January 6, 11 children from Nanning, Guangxi - "Little Sugar Orange" ended their study tour in Mohe and came to Harbin Polar Park to interact closely with penguins. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Tao
Harbin took the lead in becoming popular thanks to its own efforts and the blessing of self-media.However, the reporter visited many northern cities and found that compared with the summer tourism market, the current development of the winter tourism market is only a "drizzle". Ice and snow tourism is far from driving the entire market, and more remains in individual points and individual cities.
"To develop winter tourism, the top priority for many cities in the north is to make up for their shortcomings." said Liu Jingjing, secretary of the party committee and professor of the Art Institute of Communication University of China.
Ice and snow resources are always there, increasing the gold content is the key. At present, the development of ice and snow tourism in various places mostly relies on "relying on resources" and "selling prestige". The problem of homogeneous competition is obvious, and high-quality ice and snow tourism still lacks business innovation. In areas where ice and snow tourism is popular, sightseeing-oriented ice and snow tourism products still dominate, and one-stop ice and snow tourist attractions are relatively developed, with ice lantern viewing, snow appreciation, and skiing and skating as the main contents; while ice and snow tourism resorts, ice and snow tourism comprehensive The supply of comprehensive ice and snow tourism destinations such as sports is relatively limited and cannot fully meet tourists' demand for leisure and experiential ice and snow tourism products.
"Snow is all the same, no matter where you go." Zhang Min, an expert at the Academy of Social Sciences of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said that which ice and snow tourism company is better ultimately depends on service awareness and service quality. In the past few years, the most common complaints from tourists have been about issues such as "cheating customers", "robbing customers", and "extensive" services. There is still a long way to go to improve service quality.
In addition to enriching the tourism experience, the safety issues of ice and snow sports that accompany tourism also require great attention. In recent years, there have been many injuries such as fractures and concussions caused by skiing and skating accidents in various places. Experts point out that most of the ski market is a one-time experience; casualties can easily cause beginners to be "daunted by the snow" and affect the expansion of the consumer base in the ice and snow industry.
Industrial upgrading calls for “ice and snow +”
According to a report released by the China Tourism Academy, the number of ice and snow leisure tourists in my country is expected to exceed 500 million in 2025, and domestic ice and snow tourism revenue will exceed 1.1 trillion yuan.
"Ice and snow tourism in the Northeast has also been popular in previous years, but it has become popular this winter. From the market demand side, the domestic winter tourism market has been short of products for a long time, and people often choose the south to avoid the cold." Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences Wang Lingen, deputy director of the Ecological Research Office of the Institute of Science and Resources, believes that in recent years, with the exploration of the ice and snow market in the north and the matching of related protection products, consumers' willingness to travel to the north has increased, especially the new consumer groups who are interested in differentiation. The desire for experience is getting stronger and stronger, and it depends on whether there is a good supply of tourism products in the market.
Wang Lingen said that for the future development of ice and snow tourism, the model that focuses on assets and heavy investment will not work. Some areas in the north are vast and sparsely populated, and some areas are also ecological reserves. They are not suitable for large-scale development of tourism. Instead, more consideration should be given to light-weight and high-quality models.
On December 30, 2023, tourists visited the Linhu Gusai Scenic Area in Zhuozi County, Inner Mongolia (drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Behe
At present, in addition to traditional sightseeing, sports events and entertainment, winter tourism is especially lacking in leisure and vacation products in extremely cold environments. Tourism products based on ice and snow resources require continuous innovation. Liu Jingjing said that it is necessary to deeply explore the connotation of ice and snow tourism and develop more characteristic ice and snow tourism products, such as enjoying snow in hot springs, hiking in snowy fields, ice and snow study, fun snow sports games, ice and snow sketching, etc. At the same time, we will increase the integration with local culture, integrate local folk customs, festivals, and performing arts activities to highlight culture through travel and enhance the cultural experience of ice and snow tourism.
The industrial chain and talent chain of winter tourism need to be extended urgently. Yu Zhigang, dean of the School of Economics and Management of Northeast Agricultural University, said that at present, all regions must seize opportunities to develop ice and snow tourism and improve the corresponding industrial chain. For example, cold-proof and warm equipment, winter transportation, etc. need to be further upgraded. At the same time, we should also focus on talent cultivation and attract more people to participate in the development of the winter tourism industry chain.
Winter vacation and Spring Festival are coming soon. In order to promote the healthy development of the ice and snow industry, interviewed experts suggested that all localities should attach great importance to safety issues and plug loopholes in safety management; tourists should increase their awareness of safety risks and be the first guardian of their own safety; sports, Emergency departments, market supervision and other departments should further implement their regulatory responsibilities and carry out full-scale supervision and inspection of ice and snow sports venues in the region; relevant departments should introduce unified standards for ice and snow sports safety management as soon as possible to guide the healthy development of the industry. (Zhang Lina, Zhang Yue, Wei Jingyu)
