Background: Ice and snow sports has become an important field of sport tourism, leisure consumption and service-sector upgrading in Northeast China. Recent winter-tourism growth has produced large visitor flows, but arrival and online visibility do not automatically translate into embodied sport participation, repeated leisure consumption or locally embedded winter-sport routines. Objective: This study examines how Ice and snow sports leisure consumption scenes are activated, and why young tourists and local residents follow different conversion pathways. Methods: An explanatory mixed-methods design was adopted. The qualitative phase consisted of 66 semi-structured interviews with university experts, sport/tourism officials, ice and snow association leaders, resort and rink operators, coaches, equipment-rental and training providers, young tourists, local residents, community organizers and new-media operators. Grounded-theory coding was used to derive the main categories and mechanism chain. A supplementary survey of 133 respondents (70 young tourists and 63 local residents) was then used for descriptive comparison and exploratory regression. Results: The qualitative analysis identified a seven-stage activation mechanism: resource attraction, scene entry, service threshold reduction, experiential immersion, identity formation, consumption conversion and regional value spillover. Quantitative evidence showed that young tourists scored higher on resource perception, participation thresholds, service-support demand, scene experience, digital/social connection and consumption conversion, whereas local residents scored higher on place identity/value. Regression analysis indicated that service support, scene experience and place identity/value significantly predicted consumption conversion, while digital/social connection was not significant after service and experience variables were controlled. Conclusion: Ice and snow sports consumption should be understood as a scene-activation process rather than a simple tourism-demand outcome. Northeast China can improve conversion from tourism flow to sport leisure consumption by designing beginner-friendly products for tourists and accessible, affordable, community-based ice and snow programs for residents.
References
[1] Tang, C., Zeng, R., Yang, Y., Xu, S., Wang, X. (2022) High-quality development paths of ice-snow tourism in China from the perspective of the Winter Olympics. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 13(4), 552-563.
[2] Yang, J., Wang, Y., Tang, F., Guo, X., Chen, H., Ding, G. (2023) Ice and snow tourism in China: trends and influencing factors. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 1-12.
[3] Liu, S., Guo, Q. (2023) Image perception of ice and snow tourism in China and the impact of the Winter Olympics. PLOS One, 18(6), e0287530.
[4] Zhu, Q., Han, C., Zhu, R. (2025) The current status, challenges, and policy orientation of the ice and snow economy in China. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 16(5), 1285-1293.
[5] An, H. M., Xiao, C. D., Tong, Y., Fan, J. (2021) Ice and snow tourism and its sustainable development in China: a new perspective of poverty alleviation. Advances in Climate Change Research, 12(6), 881-893.
[6] Shi, F., Samaniego-Chavez, C. E., Chen, N., Feng, Y., Li, Y. (2025) From peripherals to devotees: delineating psychological connections, participation constraints and perceived risks among China’s ski tourists. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Horizons, 1(2), 110-127.
[7] Gkarane, S., Kavoura, A., Vassiliadis, C., Kotzaivazoglou, I., Fragidis, G., Vrana, V. (2025) The role of organizers in advancing sustainable sport tourism: insights from small-scale running events in Greece. Sustainability, 17(14), 6399.
[8] Yang, Q., Zhang, T., Mukambaeva, I., Mukambaev, N. (2025) Perceived quality symbols in short-video social media drive ski tourism behavior. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 30767.
[9] Cham, T. H., Cheah, J. H., Ting, H., Memon, M. A. (2022) Will destination image drive the intention to revisit and recommend? Empirical evidence from golf tourism. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 23(2), 385-409.
[10] González-Reverté, F., Corrons, A., Gomis-López, J. M. (2025) Exploring the role of memorable tourism experiences and place attachment in the revisit intention of tourists staying in short-term rentals. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 8(11), 79-99.
[11] Li, H., Bibi, S., Kanwel, S., Khan, A., Hussain, B. (2025) Understanding of cultural heritage tourists’ emotional experiences: How place attachment and satisfaction determine behavioral intentions. Acta Psychologica, 259, 105429.
[12] Xiao, L., Feng, S. (2024) The motivation for ice and snow sports tourism consumption and local attachment: a study on the mediating role of tourism involvement. Journal of Roi Kaensarn Academi, 9(12), 3197-3211.
[13] Bichler, B. F., Pikkemaat, B. (2021) Winter sports tourism to urban destinations: Identifying potential and comparing motivational differences across skier groups. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 36, 100420.
[14] Huang, S. (2025) The impact of ski servicescape on tourist loyalty: evidence from Chinese market. Current Issues in Tourism, 28(2), 220-239.
[15] Jia, H., Kim, D., Kim, K. (2025) Verification of the impact of sports event service quality and host destination image on sports tourists’ behavioral intentions through meta-analytic structural equation modeling. Behavioral Sciences, 15(8), 1019.
[16] Acharya, S., Mekker, M., De Vos, J. (2023) Linking travel behavior and tourism literature: Investigating the impacts of travel satisfaction on destination satisfaction and revisit intention. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 17, 100745.
[17] Taheri, B., Prayag, G., Muskat, B. (2021) Introduction to the special issue: consumer experience management and customer journeys in tourism, hospitality and events. Tourism Management Perspectives, 40, 100877.
[18] Kong, L., Yu, C., Chen, C. (2025) The influence of ski tourism service quality on tourists’ leisure satisfaction and loyalty: the moderating role of novelty seeking. Acta Psychologica, 261, 105819.
[19] Moghaddam, B., Kristiansen, E., Opstad, B. (2024) Enhancing consumer participation in the context of sport events: the power of three basic psychological needs. Journal of Convention & Event Tourism, 25(4), 259-281.
[20] Martins, R., Mascarenhas, M., Pereira, E. (2024) Exploring strategic multi-leveraging of sport tourism events: an action-research study. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 32, 100902.
Share and Cite
Xie, Z., Tang, J. (2026) Activating Ice and Snow Sports Leisure Consumption Scenes in Northeast China: A Mixed-methods Study of Young Tourists and Local Residents. Journal of Social Development and History, 2(1), 59-70. https://doi.org/10.71052/jsdh/WBTL3166