Semester break boosts demand for ski resorts

BURSA

Uludağ, one of Türkiye's important winter tourism centers, has started to receive an influx of tourists as mid-term break started for 20 million students across the country.

Holidaymakers rushed to Uludağ after the first ski resorts opened to the public in the northwestern province of Bursa, indulging in skiing activities all day long despite fog.

Süleyman Güngör, a hotel manager in Uludag, said, “There was disappointment on New Year's Eve. There is an activity in reservations with the start of the mid-term break.”

“There are rooms from 3,000 Turkish Liras to 45,000 liras per night, depending on the concept and services in the businesses,” he added.

Teams taking precautions against possible disappearances and ski accidents continue their inspections on the slopes uninterruptedly throughout the day. The teams do not allow vehicles without snow tires and chains to exit the hotel area and descend from Uludağ.

The Turkish State Meteorological Service announced that snowfall is expected at night in Uludağ, where the air temperature was measured at 4 degrees Celsius during the day.

Reservations in hotels in another center Kartalkaya, an important ski resort in the northern province of Bolu, have reached 80 percent due to the semester break. Reservations are expected to approach 100 percent in the center, where the snow thickness reaches 2 meters, and all slopes are open for ski enthusiasts.

Halit Ergül, the president of the Western Black Sea Hoteliers Association, explained the situation in the ski center and said, "The occupancy rate is currently at 80 percent, but I think this figure will reach 100 percent.”

“Visitors who will come to Kartalkaya should hurry up. They may face the problem of not finding a place in the coming days,” he stated.

“Kartalkaya has the best snow in Türkiye right now. Great skiing has started on all the slopes. We have 30 slopes with a total length of 70 kilometers in the ski center. All slopes are suitable for skiing," he said.

Palandöken Ski Center in the northeastern province of Erzurum, one of the winter tourism centers with the longest and steepest slopes in Europe, has become more active following the semester break.

At an altitude of 3,176 meters above sea level, Palandöken has nearly 40 pistes, the longest of which is 12.5 kilometers. Palandöken has special race tracks registered by the International Ski Federation (FIS), offering a thrilling and adrenaline-packed experience to ski enthusiasts.

The occupancy rate of hotels in Palandöken reached 90 percent with vacationers coming from all over the country.