(Yicai Global) Feb. 9 -- Eileen Gu’s recent gold medal win in the Beijing Winter Olympic Games has led to a big leap in interest in holidays spent in the ice and snow, as the hotels and ski resorts used by the athletes become increasingly hot tourist destinations.

After Gu’s resounding win in the women’s freeski big air final on Feb. 7, search queries for ‘ice-snow’ holiday destinations on Tujia more than tripled between noon and 4 p.m. China time yesterday from the day before, the travel app said. And Xindu JF DrySki FourSeason Resort in Chengdu, southwestern China, where Gu carried out pre-match trainings, saw searches jump 14 times from normal days on online travel platform LY.com.

The Beijing Games have already sparked greater interest in ‘ice-snow’ tourism. Bookings to winter scenic spots surged 68 percent over the Spring Festival holiday from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6 from the same holiday period last year, according to LY.com.

The number of tourists to winter leisure resorts is likely to jump by 20 percent over the 2021-2022 season from the previous season, bringing in income of CNY323.3 billion (USD50.8 billion), according to the China Tourism Agency.

Hotels close to ski resorts have seen a big surge in reservations since the snow season began last November, according to Tujia. Beijing, northern provinces Hebei and Jilin, as well as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, are the most popular ski destinations.

But even those indoor resorts in balmy, southern China are doing well. Bed and breakfasts close to the Jiangnan Tianchi Ski Field in Huzhou, southeastern Zhejiang province saw reservations over the Lunar New Year break jump six-fold from the same holiday last year, and those close to Shennongjia International Ski Resort in central Hubei province have seen interest triple.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Kim Taylor