Bulgarian Pamporovo resort to get new ski lift and runs

Dnevnik News

Pamporovo AD, the company running the skiing facilities in Bulgaria's eponymous mountain resort, said it will invest 5 mln euro in two new ski runs and a new six-seat lift connecting the Snejanka peak with the Stoikata area.

The new lift will have an hourly capacity of 2,400 skiers and should be operational by the mid-December kick-off of the skiing season.

The two new ski runs will have a combined length of 5 km, bringing the total length of ski runs in the Rhodope mountain resort to 32 km.

The Q3 financial report of the company showed a quarter-on-quarter decline in profit to 2.5 mln levs from 6.7 mln levs.

The Pamporovo resort is expected to go into the new skiing season with a 20,000 bed capacity. It is a destination popular mainly with British and Russian ski aficionados but the tour operators expect an uptick in Romanian tourists this year as well.

However, early-season bookings have been down on year-ago figures. According to Pamporovo AD executive director, the fall is within 10%. Last year's snowless winter is partly to blame for the downturn as wary holiday-makers await to check longer-term weather forecasts.