(Yicai Global) Nov. 5 -- Ski vacations, tours of ‘snow towns’ and ice-themed parks have seen a tripling in bookings during the online ‘Double 11’ online shopping bonanza from the same period last year in the run up to the Winter Olympics next year, according to e-travel agency Fliggy.

The top five winter destinations are Changbaishan in northeastern Jilin province, Zhangjiakou in northern Hebei province, Harbin in northeastern Heilongjiang province, Wuxi in southeastern Jiangsu province and Guangzhou in southern Guangdong province, according to the unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding. Although both Wuxi and Guangzhou are in the south they have popular indoor ski centers.

“The Zhangjiakou ice and snow theme park, where some of the Winter Games will take place, has gained substantially in popularity during this year’s Double-11 gala, held around the date Nov. 11, compared with previous years,” The Paper reported yesterday, citing General Manager Zhang Xuguang. More and more young people aged between 20 and 40 are taking an interest in winter sports because of the upcoming Olympics and account for 70 percent of its bookings.

The Changbaishan Mountain Scenic Area is very popular during the Double-11 shopping event, which started as a promotional event on Alibaba’s Taobao platform in 2009 and now has become a staple in the e-commerce calendar, said Zhu Wei, person in charge of Wanda Hotels and Resorts online store on Fliggy. Some 180,000 rooms have already been booked, smashing expectations.

Over 70 percent of winter trip bookings come from residents in Beijing and also the balmier cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Fliggy said. More than 30 percent of customers in the big first- and second-tier municipalities chose to book a skiiing-related holiday before the onset of winter, Trip.Com, China’s largest online travel platform, said earlier.

Editor: Kim Taylor