Inaugural World Winter Sports Expo (WWSE) Gets Underway in Beijing

BEIJING, Oct. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The 1st World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo (WWSE), hosted by Beijing Olympic City Development Association and International Data Group and organized by Beijing Olympic City Development Center and IDG World Expo, kicked off in the China National Convention Center in Beijing on October 19.

WWSE, having received great support from the seven international organizations of winter sports, aims to achieve the goal of "motivating 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports", lead the Chinese winter sports industry to progress in an all-round way and promote the match-making and development of the Chinese, Asian and even global winter sports industry chains.

The 1st WWSE, themed "Opening the Future", includes four core sections, ice & snow sports, competition & culture, outdoor & leisure and interaction & experience, and will be held on a large scale exhibition area of over 22,000 square meters especially set up for the event.

Also on October 19, "Opening Ceremony cum Main conference of 2016 World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo" was held, which gathered industry leaders from both home and abroad to discuss and analyze the current situation of the Chinese winter sports industry. During WWSE, a series of concurrent activities will be held, helping audience experience the charm of winter sports in a comprehensive way. It's estimated that WWSE will be built into one of the largest and most influential ice and snow sports event in the world in the next 5-8 years, and its influence will reach Asia and the world, thus effectively promoting the Chinese ice and snow sports industry and helping China become a world power of winter sports.

Hugo Shong, Executive Vice President of IDG and Founding Partner of IDG Capital, said, "The winter sports industry in China is currently in an important development stage for industry upgrading, faced with great market potential. WWSE will provide an important platform for match-making international winter sports resources and driving the growth of winter sports in China. Meanwhile, it will help the Chinese develop a better understanding of and the interest in winter sports and promote the innovation and progress of the winter sports industry in China."

Four Core Exhibition Sections Highlight Winter Sports

2016 WWSE shows the development history of China and world winter sports and shares the latest achievements in the winter sports industry from four aspects: ice & snow sports, competition & culture, outdoor & leisure and interaction & experience:

Ice & snow sports – including themed National Pavilions, Ski Resorts and Destinations, Sports Equipment and Venue Facilities & Construction.

Competition & culture – including themes like Olympic-themed Exhibitions, Global Sports Organizations, Winter Tourism Culture and Competition Promotion and International Brands Cooperation.

Besides, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has revealed the latest progress of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games by exhibiting pictures of work meetings and major activities concerning the preparation and one-year review for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the regional planning of the three major Olympic areas and all venues and the appearance and interior design of the venues, as well as introduction to the competition events of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and pictures of seven major events. The Organizing Committee has provided the public the opportunity to experience winter sports. Visitors can have a bird's view of the Yanqing Olympic area in a hot-air balloon, and experience ski jumping, snowmobiles and sledges and the smart photographing system.

Outdoor & leisure – including themes like Sportstyle, Outdoor Sports and Fitness Equipment. Exhibits include fitness equipment such as recovery and fitness paths, fitness machines and bicycles, and sports leisure products such as winter sports ware, protective wear, individual sports accessories and wearable smart hardware.

Interaction & experience – including Internet + Sports, VR Experience, Sports Talents, Ice Performance, Curling Experience and Yukigassen Snowball Fight Experience. WWSE has provided an immersive virtual skiing experience for visitors with the cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) technology. There's also a 500-square-meter real ice rink, which will put on shows of ice hockey and figure skating from skating clubs and art troupes, as well as exciting ice hockey competitions and ice dragon boat races.

Winter Sports Summit Forums: Seeking Industry Development Paths

The "Opening Ceremony cum Main Forum of 2016 World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo", together with following forums has invited over 100 industry leaders from the IOC and seven international winter sports organizations for in-depth discussion and communication.

In the two-day forums from October 19 to 20, they will focus on the development of the Chinese winter sports industry based on the development trend of the world winter sports industry:

Ski Resort Operation and Management Forum – gathering top domestic and foreign ski resort operators to discuss advanced ski resort operation and management ideas.

Winter Sports Tourism Forum – establishing a communication platform for operators of tourism bureaus, travel agencies and ski resorts from all over the world to share their experiences in winter sports tourism operation.

Winter Sports Talents Development Forum – focusing on the talent demand arising from the boom of the winter sports industry and discussing the solutions for winter sports talents in China.

Internet + Sports Marketing Forum – focusing on the development of winter sports in the Internet+ era, sharing knowledge and ideas and providing new thoughts for the industry.

Winter Sports Finance and Investment Forum – analyzing in depth the investment and financing trend in the winter sports industry, sharing investment and financing experience and discussing on how to choose investment projects in the winter sports industry.

Winter Sports Equipment and Technology Forum – focusing on the latest development in the global winter sports equipment industry and sharing the "black technology" of winter sports equipment.

Concurrent Activities: Leading New Consumption Trend

With the snow sports industry still booming, winter sports products and services are becoming more popular among consumers. In 2009, the skiing population in China was less than 5 million, but in 2015, the number was over 10 million, a growth rate of over 20% over 2014, and it's expected to exceed 50 million by 2022.

The winter sports industry has received much attention as a national industry and has been included in the national and local economic development planning, thus taking the important role of driving consumption and enriching people's healthy lifestyle.

Promoting mass consumption in winter sports and popularizing winter sports are also important goals of WWSE. In the four-day event, audience can visit exhibitions of hot ski resorts and destinations, latest winter sports products and smart sports equipment and experience cutting-edge ice and snow technology.

Meanwhile, some ten concurrent activities will be held, jointly bringing the winter sports industry to a new level. The activities include the release of Research Report on the Development of the Chinese Ice and Snow Industry, Winter Photo Show and "Olympic Collections", which will showcase the unique charm of winter sports in an all-round way.

In the Winter Photo Show, beautiful works provided by the Chinese National Geography will be exhibited. People who enjoy winter sports culture can feel the excitement and passion of winter sports at the exhibition. The diversified concurrent activities will provide every visitor a feast of winter sports culture.

Together with the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, Promoting Development of Ice and Snow Industry

Currently China's economic growth is becoming stable, so is the social development prospect, with the growing per capita disposable income and rising consumption level, which lays a solid foundation for the rapid development of the winter sports industry.

With Beijing wining the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, China will increase efforts in popularizing winter sports and change the situation of stagnation in the growth of global winter sports population to introduce 300 million people to participate in winter sports.

By taking the opportunity, WWSE will assist the holding of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and lead the match-making and coordination of Chinese winter sports industry chain with the world's. It will also tap the great potential of the winter sports industry and drive the industry chain from the aspects like clothing, equipment, site facilities, talent training, sports experience, competition organization, tourism & leisure and "Internet+".

Meanwhile, it will promote the holding of winter sports nationwide, help the public develop a better understanding of and the interest in winter sports, facilitate diversified development of winter sports in fields like mass leisure sports, and help the winter sports industry step into its golden age of development.

Follow the official WeChat account of WWSE (search [WWSE] in WeChat) and the official website: http://wwse2022.com, for more information about WWSE.

Contact WWSE:

About WWSE

World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo (WWSE) is a global professional winter sports expo hosted by Beijing Olympic City Development Association and International Data Group, with the goal of popularizing knowledge of winter sports in China and driving 300 million people to participate in winter sports. Starting in 2016, WWSE will be annually held in Beijing, China, and will strive to become the world's largest and most influential winter sports expo. WWSE, following professional and national standards, has gained support and participation of the IOC and seven international organizations of single winter sports events. WWSE will help prepare Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, promote sports progress of China and realize vigorous development of winter sports in China. For more information, please visit the official website: http://wwse2022.com.

About IDG

International Data Group (IDG), established in 1964, is the world's leading IT publishing, market research, exposition and venture investment company. Headquartered in Boston, the United States, IDG currently has subsidiaries and offices in 90 countries and regions worldwide, with 13,270 senior researchers and editing staff. It has established a rapid and comprehensive world information network using modern information processing and passing means such as e-mail, database, telex and on-line service. IDG entered the Chinese market in 1979 by establishing the first Sino-US joint venture: IDG China, which is mainly engaged in media cooperation, market research, venture investment and exposition and conference. In the past 33 years, IDG China has seen a growth of about 50% in business, leading IDG's companies in other regions. For more information, please visit the official website: www.idg.com.cn

SOURCE International Data Group (IDG)

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