Spatial and Temporal Differences of Climate Suitability of Ice and Snow Sports in Major Ski Tourism Destinations in China

Ice and snow tourism in China has grown significantly since the country successfully hosted the Beijing Winter Olympics.Climatic conditions profoundly impact the development of ice and snow tourism;however,most studies have focused on constructing different climate suitability indicators for ice and snow tourism to evaluate individual regions,lacking horizontal comparative studies across multiple regions.This study aims to enrich the connotation of climate suitability for ice and snow sports,establish an evaluation model based on snowfall amount,temperature,and wind speed,and use daily meteorological data from 1991 to 2021 to horizontally compare the climate suitability for ice and snow sports in major ski tourism destinations in China.This study boasts four major findings:1)the average ice and snow sports climate index of each region decreases over time,and the overall suitability of the climate for ice and snow sports is reducing;2)northern Xinjiang exhibits the most evident regional differentiation from‘very suitable’to‘generally suitable’;3)the spatial zoning of climate suitability for ice and snow sports exhibits heterogeneity,as northern Xinjiang is divided into two‘suitable and above’zones with rotating empirical orthogonal function(REOF).Correspondingly,the four provinces of Hebei,Heilongjiang,Jilin,and Liaoning are divided into three‘generally suitable and above’zones;4)snowfall amount is the main factor affecting the climate suitability of ice and snow sports in the major ski tourist destinations in China.

Evaluation and Promotion Model of Tourist Satisfaction in Ice and Snow Tourism Destinations

The successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics has brought historic opportunities for the development of ice and snow tourism in China.An index system for the evaluation of tourist satisfaction in ice and snow tourism destinations was constructed from the target layer-factor layer-index layer approach in this paper.Taking tourists with ice and snow tourism experience as the research object,and integrating a questionnaire survey and the Importance-Performance Analysis(IPA)method,a total of 840 valid questionnaires were collected to assess the satisfaction of tourists in snow and ice tourism destinations,and the promotion model of tourist satisfaction in ice and snow tourism destinations was put forward.This process led to three main results.(1)Ice and snow tourists in China are characterized as young and better-educated,with college students aged 19 to 25 as the main consumer group.More than 70%of ice and snow tourists are pretty satisfied with the current development of ice and snow destinations in China,and are willing to participate again.(2)Other than“ice and snow souvenirs”,tourists’perceptions of importance are all higher than the level of perceived satisfaction,and the importance values of the 13 indicators including“Scenic spot security”and“Diversity of ice and snow entertainment and sports”are especially high,showing that tourists have high expectations and demands of the destinations.However,the perceived satisfaction level of tourists for all indexes is generally low,mostly at the general satisfaction level,indicating that ice and snow tourism destinations have only partially met the demands of ice and snow tourists,and there is still much room for improvement.(3)After IPA analysis,five suggestions for improving the satisfaction of tourists in ice and snow tourism destinations were put forward,including diversification of the tourism business model,construction of tourism facilities,a market diversified cultivation model,a humanized mode of tourism service and a refined management model.The results of this study will help to enrich the theory of ice and snow tourist satisfaction and promote the high-quality development of China's ice and snow tourism in the post-Winter Olympics era.

Sustainable Development of Ice and Snow Tourism-Theory&Empirical Studies:Preface

The Beijing Winter Olympics brought a historical miracle to the development of China’s ice and snow tourism.It is both an opportunity and a challenge to reap the extra dividends of the times and to develop China’s ice and snow tourism.By selecting 18 academic papers,this special issue deeply discusses the status quo and the future measures of ice and snow tourism in China from three aspects:ice and snow tourism development and management,the ice and snow tourism experience and its influencing factors,and ice and snow tourism impact assessment.Moreover,one part entitled“Tourism Culture and Ecotourism”has been set up to emphasize those cutting-edge research topics.It is worth mentioning that this issue is in-depth and has profound connotations.First of all,the research area ranges from national to regional to the city-level,including both longitudinal and horizontal research.In additon,the research methods are practical,innovative,and at the frontier of scientific research,and include industrial correlation analysis methods,kernel density,spatial autocorrelation and other geospatial analysis methods,content analysis methods,sentiment analysis methods,structural equation models,Delphi methods,spatial statistics methods,geographic detector method and many others.In general,this special issue combines qualitative research with quantitative research,provides a variety of theoretical perspectives such as perceived value theory,institutional evolution theory,etc.,and builds various useful models like the pre-competition evaluation model for ice and snow tourism heritage,the consumption skill-travel radius decision-making influence model under the moderating effect of the ski resort comprehensive leisure environment,the evaluation model of the suitability of glacier tourism resource development,the model of the relationship between tourists’experience value and loyalty in the context of ice and snow tourism,among others.These studies are expected to provide theoretical and practical guidance for the development of ice and snow tourism in the post-Winter Olympics era,and help ice and snow tourism develop in a sustainable and high-quality direction.

A Pre-game Evaluation of the Tourism Legacy of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games

The role of tourism in social and economic development and stabilizing the Olympic legacy has been widely discussed.Beijing is the first“Dual-Olympic City”.For the first time,the Beijing Winter Olympics has adopted a model of three competition areas,which has attracted much attention to the study of its tourism legacy.In the legacy plan,the construction of the“Beijing-Zhangjiakou Sports Culture and Tourism Belt”was proposed.The development of ice and snow tourism and the cultivation of the ice and snow tourism market is also reflected in many policy documents and government actions.The scientific planning before the competition laid a good foundation for the sustainable development of its ice and snow tourism heritage.This research combines Olympic legacy research with tourism destination theory,and focuses on ice and snow tourism directly related to the Winter Olympics and the significance of pre-event planning for legacy protection.At the same time,the improvement of the quality of ice and snow tourism destinations is embedded in the pre-Olympic legacy,and opinions and suggestions on how to ensure the stability of the legacy after the games are given.This study uses the literature review method and the second-hand materials survey research method,then through establishing a tourism legacy pre-game evaluation model and the use of geographic information,government reports,policies,publicly released statistics and news reports,etc..It explores the legacy of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics,aiming to lay the foundation for preserving the continuous value of the ice and snow tourism legacy during and after the Olympics.The results indicate that the Beijing Winter Olympics has made relatively complete plans and reliable progress in both tangible and intangible legacy.Complete tourism infrastructure,an optimistic sport and cultural atmosphere,and the improvement of residents’health concept and sports awareness have become boosters for the development of ice and snow tourism in the Beijing-Zhangjiakou region.