Comprehensive evaluation of ski resort development conditions in northern China

China′s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will promote rapid development of domestic ski tourism. More than 10 provinces in the northern China list ski tourism as a new source of growth in the tourism industry. Formulating a scientific evaluation system is an important foundation for ski resort development. By referring to the conditions of existing international ski resorts, a comprehensive index system for evaluating ski resort development was developed based on natural factors, human factors, athletic sports, and popular ski tourism. The system was composed of one target layer, two indices, seven sub-indices and twenty-five basic indices. Based on data collected during a field investigation in 2012 and on a statistical model, the development conditions of the following ski resorts were quantified: Yabuli Ski Resort in Heilongjiang Province and Beidahu Ski Resort in Jilin Province in Northeast China, Wanlong Ski Resort in Hebei Province and Nanshan Ski Resort in Beijing in the northern China, and Silk Road International Ski Resort in Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in the northwestern China. The resulting index values of development conditions at Beidahu, Yabuli, Wanlong, Nanshan, and Silk Road International Ski Resorts were 0.304, 0.278, 0.270, 0.214, and–0.025, respectively. Various natural and human factors exert positive and negative effects on the development potential of ski resorts. The development conditions of the five ski resorts were inferior to those of first-class international resorts. Therefore, the development conditions of the five ski resorts should be improved with future construction.