Tax data reveals Olympics ignited Chinese winter sports fever

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics have brought a wave of winter sports fever in China, leading to a rapid increase in the sales revenue of related sectors, data from the country's tax authorities showed.

In March, the sales revenue of the sports industry in Chongli District in the city of Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province and Beijing's Yanqing District, both housing venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics, surged 65 percent and 62.6 percent year on year, respectively, according to the tax data released by the State Taxation Administration.

In the first quarter, the cumulative sales revenue of the sports industry in the two areas logged rapid yearly growth of 35.2 percent and 68.9 percent, the data showed.

The enthusiasm for winter sports also boosted the local accommodation and catering sector and drove up the consumption of related sports products.

The accommodation and catering sectors in Chongli and Yanqing saw their sales revenue in the first three months rise 350 percent and 55.9 percent from the same period a year ago. The sales revenue from related sports products and facilities in the two areas increased by 61.6 percent and 47.3 percent year on year, respectively.