Lleida ski resorts ready to open with hopes of selling 1,350,000 passes
Early snowfall creates expectation of record year and longest season ever
The 11 ski resorts in the Lleida Pyrenees are looking forward to a bumper season, hoping to sell some 1,350,000 ski passes when the season gets underway at the end of this month and the beginning of December.
Between them, the resorts have invested some 11.2 million euros, aiming to build on last season's positive results, which were the best in the past 12 years.
There is optimism in the sector after snow has already begun to fall this autumn, and the talks continue to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2030.
In fact, thanks to the weather conditions, the sector estimates that the season could be the longest ever, after some resorts opened as early as November 1.
The target for the season set by Lleida's tourism office is to exceed the record number of skiers last year, when the Lleida Pyrenees attracted 60% of all skiers in Catalonia.
The Lleida ski resorts directly employ some 2,200 people and indirectly provide work for another 7,500, especially in the hostelry sector and among firms related to skiing.
The sector's economic impact last season amounted to 412 million euros, and some 1.8 billion euros in the past five years. Some 330,000 euros went towards this year's promotional campaign.
La Molina offers season preview for 10 euros
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Catalan Pyrenees, La Molina ski resort will offer a preview of its new season this weekend, on November 24 and 25, for a special entrance price of 10 euros.
Yet, La Molina is offering more than just skiing, and has a number of other snow-based activities, such as panoramic trips on its ski lifts or excursions with snowshoes and Segways.
The official opening of La Molina's season will be on December 1.