The Kolašin 1600 ski center is experiencing excellent visitor numbers.
Favorable weather conditions and significant amounts of snow this past weekend attracted a large number of visitors to Bjelasica and the Kolašin 1600 ski center.
Both local residents and numerous guests from other cities in Montenegro and the region enjoyed skiing, sledding, snowboarding, riding the cable car and the rich culinary offerings at the Troglava restaurant, as reported by Mediabiro.
The ski center was also visited by the Minister of Transport, Maja Vukićević, who emphasized that the Ski Resorts of Montenegro have the support of the Government.
The executive director of the Ski Resorts of Montenegro, Đuro Milošević, expressed satisfaction with the strong turnout and the quality start to the season.
“There is a true winter idyll here, the slopes are full of skiers, the weather is fantastic, everything is running smoothly to the satisfaction of both the staff and visitors. It’s been just about ten days since we opened the ski season, and we are seeing excellent results. The majority of guests are from Montenegro, but we also have significant numbers of visitors from Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and even Russia and Ukraine,” said Milošević.
He added that the past ten days are an indicator of a successful season, and he hopes that with continued progress, they will quickly resolve all financial issues and establish a stable foundation for the remainder of the year.
Milošević pointed out that the previous winter season was very challenging for the Ski Resorts of Montenegro, as it passed without a single ski day.
“We have achieved more revenue in the ski center in the last ten days of December than in the entire remaining 355 days of the previous year. We have managed to pay out 12 net salaries. Unfortunately, only four were earned directly from the ski center, our main source of income. The government assisted with four net salaries, and the other four were earned through commercial and marketing activities,” Milošević shared.
He reminded visitors that they can currently enjoy riding the K8 cable car and all the slopes associated with it and announced that two ski lifts would be operational in the coming days.
Despite all efforts by the Ski Resorts of Montenegro to ensure that this winter season runs smoothly and that visitors enjoy all the amenities at the Kolašin 1600 ski center, Milošević points out that the issue with the K7 cable car is complicating operations.
“This problem is not on us. A private investor’s work endangered the pillar of the K7 cable car. We took all necessary actions—we monitored the work, intervened in a timely manner with all relevant institutions, and hired experts from Doppelmayr who restored the pillar to its original position. We also hired a surveyor who, in September, recorded the current state,” said Milošević.
The administration for capital projects, according to him, provided a geodetic survey of the previous condition with a delay. Upon hiring building experts, it was found that the land around the pillar was unstable, which is why the K7 cable car cannot be put into use yet.
“If we are forced to, we will initiate a damage compensation procedure. This is detrimental to the staff at the ski resort, the town of Kolašin, Montenegro, the tourism industry, and skiers who would otherwise enjoy 21 kilometers of slopes,” Milošević warned.
He expressed hope for a quick resolution of this problem and urged everyone to visit the Kolašin 1600 ski center and enjoy everything that this promising winter season has to offer.
