Heilongjiang's ice and snow season achieves multiple national firsts

China's online travel agency Ctrip recently released the 2023-2024 ice and snow tourism report for Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

According to the report, the visits made to Heilongjiang through online travel platforms (OTA) totaled 43.02 million, and generated a total tourism revenue of 10.94 billion yuan ($1.50 billion). This is the province’s best performance since the 2019-2020 ice and snow season.

Compared to 2019, there was a remarkable 145.59 percent increase in OTA tourist visits and a staggering 168.29 percent growth in OTA tourism revenue, outpacing the market growth of all other ice and snow tourism destinations nationwide.

Simultaneously, Heilongjiang has taken the lead in several aspects such as ice and snow-themed tourism routes, ice and snow-themed scenic spots, and popular ice and snow-related search terms, making it the top winter destination in the country.

In 2023, following the success of Shandong's Zibo city, Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang, also became a popular tourism destination. This surge in popularity is the result of years of dedication to developing its culture and tourism sectors.

Since 2019, Heilongjiang has made substantial investments and preparations centered on its "ice and snow tourism" sector.

With long-term investment and construction, the ice and snow tourism products in Heilongjiang demonstrated robust supply capabilities during the 2023 surge.

The number of "ice and snow" themed routes in Heilongjiang reached 2,632, more than triple its previous amount and surpassing other provinces.

Additionally, 111 new ski resorts were introduced, leading the pack among other popular ice and snow tourism provinces. Among these, Harbin Ice and Snow World, China Snow Town and Sun Island Snow Expo have become highly sought-after tourist destinations.