“While those who want to welcome the new year at the ski resorts make reservations for the New Year, tourism professionals enter 2023 with the expectation of snow. In some ski centers, the season cannot be opened due to delayed snow, while artificial snow is applied in some centers.”While those who want to welcome the new year at the ski resorts make reservations for the New Year, tourism professionals enter 2023 with the expectation of snow. In some ski centers, the season cannot be opened due to delayed snow, while artificial snow is applied in some centers.
In ski resorts all over Turkiye, days are counted for both snowfall and New Year’s Eve. While ‘artificial snowfall’ was made in Palandoken Ski Center when the snow was delayed, the expected snow in Uludag Ski Center has not yet materialized. In Kartepe Ski Center, where the snow thickness reaches 20 centimeters, new precipitation is expected for the tracks.
The countdown has begun for the snow depth to reach 80 centimeters at the Ilgaz Mountain Ski Center, where the ski season cannot be opened. In addition to the expectation of snow, the preparations for the New Year accelerated in the ski resorts. Those who want to welcome the New Year at the ski resorts have made their reservations days in advance. While the occupancy rate in the hotels in Erciyes Ski Center reached 92%, the occupancy rate in Zigana Ski Center reached 90%.
PALANDOKEN IS READY FOR THE NEW YEAR WITH ‘ARTIFICIAL SNOW’
In the Palandoken Ski Center, which is 3 thousand 176 meters above sea level in Erzurum, ‘artificial snowfall’ and ‘snow storage’ methods were put into use when the snowfall was delayed this year. In Palandoken, where an illuminated 2-kilometer track of 2 thousand 650 and 2 thousand 450 meters was opened in the first stage, natural snow reached 20 centimeters. This figure will reach 50 centimeters with ‘artificial snow’. With the system applied in the Alps, the occupancy rate of the hotels in Palandoken, which is the first ski resort in Turkiye to open the season, reached 90% before the New Year. Hotel customers will enter the new year with a live concert, fireworks display and torch skiing event.
EMPLOYMENT RATE IN ERCIYES IS 92%
The occupancy rate of the hotels in Erciyes Ski Center, one of the important centers of winter tourism in Kayseri, reached 92%. Domestic and foreign tourists enjoy skiing in the center, where the snow thickness reaches 50 centimeters and the season opened 4 days ago. On New Year’s Day, the hotels in the region, which are expected to be 100% full, will host their guests with various organizations.
RESERVATIONS FOUND 80% IN KARTALKAYA
In Kartalkaya Ski Center, at an altitude of 2,200 at the summit of the Koroglu Mountains in Bolu, 3 of the 5 hotels did not open the season due to the low snowfall. 2 hotels started to accept their guests by filling their runways with ‘artificial snowfall’. On the tracks where ‘artificial snowfall’ was made, the snow thickness approached 50 centimeters. The reservation rate in hotels reached 80% before the New Year. Yusuf Avci, the general manager of 2 hotels in the region, said, “Currently, our New Year’s Eve reservations have reached 80%. We expect it to be 100%. We think we will have a full New Year’s Eve. It has been the same in previous years.”
SNOW EXPECTATION FOR SKIING IN KARTEPE
In Kocaeli, the snow thickness reached 20 centimeters in Kartepe Ski Center on the summit of the Samanlı Mountains. However, as there was not enough snow, 11 ski tracks could not be activated in the region. The runways will be opened when the snow thickness reaches 80 centimeters. Kartepe Ski Center Track Manager Taner Tamer said, “There is not enough snow at the moment for the opening of our ski facilities in Kartepe. “We are planning to open our runways with successive snowfall in the coming days,” he said. Stating that they have reached a 20% occupancy rate in the New Year’s reservation, Tamer said, “We expect to reach 100% by the beginning of the year. Because our reservations continue intensively. There are a total of 11 ski slopes here. Many activities await vacationers who come here. We are ready for the winter season.”
ULUDAG WILL ENTER THE NEW YEAR WITHOUT SNOW
In Uludag, which is one of the important centers of winter tourism in Bursa, the ski season, which was planned to open on December 15, could not start because there was no snowfall. Snowfall is not expected on New Year’s Eve, when the temperature will be minus 7. While reservations are pending in the region, some holidaymakers canceled their plans.
SKI SEASON CANNOT BE OPENED IN HAKKARI
At Merga Butan Ski Center in Hakkari, the length of the track, which is 6 thousand meters, will be increased to 9 thousand, while the center awaits ski lovers with its 4-star hotel, chairlift system and track areas to be put into service. In the ski center at an altitude of 2,800, the snow thickness has reached only 20 centimeters this year. Officials stated that they will open the season with snowfall.
NEW SEASON PREPARATION IN BINGOL
With the falling snow, the preparations for the new season accelerated at the Hesarek Ski Center on the slopes of Hesarek Mountain at an altitude of 2,500 in Bingol. After the snow thickness reaches 60 centimeters, the new season will open in the ski resort. Manager Ali Celayir said, “Every year, with the opening of the season, nearly 200 thousand domestic and foreign tourists come to our ski resort. We continue our preparations. After the snowfall, we will start the new year with the new season.”
NEW YEAR’S EVE THRILL IN SAKLIKENT
Saklikent Ski Center, known as the ‘Uludag of Antalya’, is expected to receive the first snow of the year. In Saklikent, 47 kilometers from the city center on the Beydaglari, accommodation services are offered in rental houses as well as hotels and pensions. Stating that the season will open with the first snowfall, the operator Cuma Ozaydin said, “As businesses, our preparations are complete. The only thing we’re missing is snow. We hope it will snow. New Year’s Eve is celebrated differently at the summit of Antalya. This year, the snowfall is late. But we have a week ahead of us. We will have the opportunity to open our tracks with a good snowfall.”
‘GALA NIGHT’ NEW YEAR IN DAVRAZ
The ski season has not started yet, as there is no expected snowfall in Davraz Ski Center, which has a peak height of 2635 meters, rising between Egirdir and Kovada lakes in Isparta. 3 different accommodation facilities in Davraz organized a gala night for New Year’s Eve. Davraz Ski Center has 14 different tracks of various lengths.
SALDA SKI CENTER CAN NOT BE OPENED
In the Salda Ski Center in Eşeler Plateau within the borders of Yesilova district of Burdur, the expected snowfall has not yet occurred this year. Since there was no snowfall, no preparations were made for New Year’s Eve. The ski center, at an altitude of 2079 meters, has a chair lift line of 8860 meters and 5 tracks with lengths varying between 1000 and 1500 meters.
NO SNOW IN CIBILTEPE
The hotels in Cibiltepe Ski Center, which is located in the Scots pine forests in the Sarıkamış district of Kars, have completed their preparations for the New Year. At the summit of Cibiltepe, which is 2 thousand 634 meters high, the snow thickness reached 30 centimeters. On the second stage tracks, the snow thickness reached 20 centimeters. It was reported that cancellations were experienced due to the lack of snow in the ski resort, where the reservation rate before the New Year reached 50%. Tourism professionals, on the other hand, stated for the first time that snow did not fall in the region during this period.
OCCUPATION RATE IN ZIGANA IS 90%
The occupancy rate of Zigana Ski Center, the pearl of winter tourism in the Eastern Black Sea Region, has reached 90%. Snow is expected in the center where there is no snow at the desired level yet, on New Year’s Eve.
The facility in Ordu’s Cambasi Ski Center also provides service with 12 bungalows and 34 hotel rooms. In the ski center, where the reservation rate reached 90%, the snow thickness was 60 centimeters. At the beginning of the year, the slopes will open and the ski season will begin.
The season has also started at Akdag Ski Center in Samsun’s Ladik district. In the ski resort, where the snow thickness exceeds 20 centimeters in places, more than 80% reservations were made for the New Year.
On the other hand, Trabzon’s Uzungol Tourism Center and Rize’s Ayder Plateau, which do not have ski facilities, are among the most preferred places in the region for winter tourism. Reservations for New Year’s Eve in both centers exceeded 90%.
SNOWING EXPECTATION ON ILGAZ MOUNTAIN
This year, there has not been enough snowfall in the Ilgaz Mountain Ski Center between Kastamonu and Cankiri. For this reason, the ski season could not be opened in the region. It has been reported that the new season will start with the snow thickness reaching 80 centimeters. The different lengths of pistes at Ilgaz Ski Center and Ilgaz 2-Yurduntepe Ski Center offer ski lovers an enjoyable winter holiday. Ilgaz Mountain is 40 kilometers from Kastamonu and 200 kilometers from Ankara.
Source: Sozcu / Translated by Irem Yildiz