Cristina Hodgson
THE Sierra Nevada ski and mountain resort closed the Christmas holidays—from December 22 to January 6—with more than 158,000 visitors.
Of the almost 160,000 visitors, 111,500 were skiers, while the rest, around 47,000, were users of ski lifts or gondola lifts to access Borreguiles or enjoyed the snow activities for non-skiers.
In fact, the Mirlo Blanco complex and the Borreguiles snow slides for non-skier saw 21,719 visitors use the facilities, breaking the all-time record for the Christmas period.
Despite the positive data, Christmas in Sierra Nevada, as in the rest of the European resorts, has been particularly complicated due to the scarcity of precipitation and the absence of prolonged periods of cold weather.
According to the CEO of Cetursa Sierra Nevada, Jesus Ibañez, Sierra Nevada was able to ‘increase its skiing offer during the holidays, thanks especially to the incorporation of the El Rio slope on the first day of the year.’
Sierra Nevada has finished the Christmas period with 30 skiable kilometres, almost the entire vertical drop (1,100 metres from the vicinity of the Veleta peak to Pradollano) and 14 ski lifts in operation.
Hotel occupancy in Pradollano accommodation has exceeded 73% until Epiphany Day.
The Christmas programme included the Three Wise Men parade, one of the most crowded in recent years, which brought together hundreds of children on the final stretch of the El Río slope, where the Three Wise Men arrived on skis before distributing gifts in the Plaza de Andalucía in Pradollano.
At the beginning of Christmas, Sierra Nevada unveiled the new Alhambra chairlift, which joined the Emile Allais—which was launched at the opening of the 22/23 winter season—as the great novelties of the campaign.
Both, six-seater detachable chairlifts with high transport capacity and energy efficiency, aim to decongest the lower area of Borreguiles, through a better distribution of users and connections with other lifts in the resort.
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