The ski business started Christmas with very fair snow, but the Catalan resorts close these holidays on a high note with the sale of around 300,000 days of skiing. The Pyrenees of Lleida, with Baqueira Beret at the helm, has taken over most of these visits with 220,000 ski passes.
The vice president of the Patronat de Turisme, Juan Antonio Serrano, yesterday made a “satisfactory” assessment of these numbers, very similar to the figures for Christmas last year. Occupancy throughout the Catalan Pyrenees has averaged around 70%, with peaks of full occupancy on some days in the resorts closest to the slopes. The conditions for skiing have not, in most resorts, been those desired by fans. No resort has been able to open its entire ski area these days, which makes the balance even more positive. There was a desire to ski and the lack of snow has not discouraged some fans who have adapted to the situation.
Baqueria Beret, with 116 kilometers of slopes, has benefited from the lack of snow in the rest of the resorts. The Aranese resort closed this Christmas with 12% more skiers than last year’s holidays and was able to open its four sectors: Baqueira, Beret, Bonaigua and Baciver.
The most desired gift in the snow business has arrived this year with the Three Wise Men. The latest rainfall has left thicknesses of up to 80 centimeters of new snow (this is the case of Baqueira), which now ensures the continuity of this activity in the coming months. A gift that adds points when it arrives when Catalonia has just closed a historic year in climate emergency due to drought. These snowfalls will allow the resorts to maintain the appointment of different ski competitions scheduled for this January and February.
