Ski season opens on Kopaonik mountain - Ski centers of Serbia, Republic of Srpska to connect, offer common ski pass

The winter ski season on Kopaonik mountain was ceremoniously opened on December 10 with the presentation of the award of the Balkan Alliance of Hotel Associations (BAHA) to the company MK Mountain Resort, part of the MK Group.

The Alliance decided to declare Kopaonik as the ski center of the Balkans for the year 2012, and the commission stated that MK Mountain Resort had significantly improved the tourist offer of Serbia with its big investments.

On the occasion of the ski season opening, MK Mountain Resort organizes the event Ski Opening between December 8th and 12th, during which all guests of the biggest hotel complex on Kopaonik get a two-day ski pass for free.

As the company Skijalista Srbije announced, the ski run Karaman Greben will be open as of December 9th, and the prices of half-day and one-day ski passes will be 40% lower than usual.

There are about 5,000 guests on Kopaonik at the moment. It is interesting that there is currently no snow on any mountain in the region except Kopaonik. The snow cover on this mountain is about 15 centimeters thick, and the average temperature is about -5 degrees Centigrade.

The ski season 2011/2012 was officially opened by Goran Petkovic, state secretary for tourism within the Ministry of Economy.

Opening the new winter season, Petkovic said he expected it to be more successful than the last one, adding that the previous season had not been bad thanks to marketing investments.

- The aim is that the winter season in Serbia opens as early as possible and lasts as long as possible, as well as that the service be of the highest quality - he said.

We can expect ski centers in Serbia and the Republic of Srpska to connect with each other and offer a common ski pass as early as next year, Petkovic announced.

- A joint appearance of ski centers in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria and in the region is necessary to make it possible for this part of Europe to appear on the map of famous tour operators - Petkovic explained and added that their chances for success were much smaller when acting individually.