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For the eleventh time in a row Bansko received the Ski Oscar and once again can officially use the definition Bulgaria’s Best Ski Resort! This was awarded through anonymous voting by professionals working in the ski industry, users of the service, tour operators, agents and the media representatives, who voted between June 26th and October 13th, 2023 on the website www.worldskiawards.com. Another prestigious World Ski Award arrives at the foot of Pirin Mountain: Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko was named the Bulgaria’s Best Ski Hotel!

This year again more than 4 million people took part in the anonymous voting process, which means that this survey is not only the largest in the industry, but also one of the most global ever conducted.

Ski tourism represents a vital segment of the global travel and tourism market. Approximately 400 million skier trips are made each year in over 2,500 ski resorts worldwide, which offer over 6 million hotel beds.

Managed by Ulen, the ski area in Pirin Mountain has been dominating the ranking since 2013, while only the Austrian Kitzbühel, the French Val Thorens, and the American Deer Valley can boast of the same.

"We are happy to win this Oscar of ski tourism for the eleventh time in a row, because it helps the image of the city, the ski area and Bulgaria as a preferred place for a luxury skiing experience. We offer high quality service at an exceptional an attractive price", said Ivan Obreykov. The marketing director of the concessionaire Ulen which manages the ski area in Pirin, reminded that until December 15th winter sports fans can get a seasonal pass for Bansko for BGN 1,500, a price which has remained unchanged for the last two years, despite high inflation and rising prices of energy sources.

In the summer of 2023 Ulen made a solid investment to improve the technological snow installation of the leading company TechnoAlpin along the entire length of the ski road, which allows under favorable conditions (temperatures below -2 degrees and low air humidity) to be covered with snow within only 72 hours.

In addition, two new Leitner snow groomers have been purchased for the upcoming winter season, which will help maintain the slopes on a world-class level.