Record Christmas season for Catalan ski resorts

Ski resorts in the Girona region of the Catalan Pyrenees have closed the Christmas holidays with a record number of skiers on the slopes and hotels fully-booked. In the Girona region of the country, the resorts of La Molina, Masella, and Vallter 2000 have sold 10% more ski passes than last year, which had seen the highest number of visitors until now. 

The director of La Molina ski resort, Toni Santamaria, reflected how the figures look promising, especially for the second half of the season. “It will be hard to find someone complaining about little work,” he said, affirming how the resort has done “very well” this Christmas holiday, even on the days before Christmas “which were traditionally weak.”

At the Masella resort, at peak times up to 11,000 skiers were on the pistes. Local hotels have been enjoying a busy holiday. Employment has been  full from December 23 until January 7, hotels in Masella, La Molina, and the surrounding valley. According to Santamaria, timing has been a key factor, with Christmas day falling on a Monday. This “allows people to take longer breaks,” he said. 

Big spending

Not only have there been more people testing their skills on the slopes, but they have also been spending more per day. “Not only are they staying for more days,” Santamaria said, “but they are letting their hair down more than a few years ago.”

Around 80% of the people who spent their holidays in the area come from Barcelona and the surrounding area, while the rest are mainly French. There has also been a significant increase in the amount of people coming from Spain, especially from Valencia and Madrid.