"Hot" Rates from Operators of Ski Tourism

The winter tourist season flares up, and operators of ski tourism offer "hot" tariffs for skating on snowy mountain roads.

Lovers of ski tourism will be able to use the services of two mountain resorts in Gusar (mountain recreation complex Shahdag) and Gabala (summer and winter recreation complex Tufandag) areas. However, this form of recreation in the season 2014-2015 will be much more expensive than the previous.

The tourist center Shahdag raised tariffs on services like traveling in cable cars (from the single 10 manat to 16 manat for children up to 6 years, and up to 25 manat - for adults). Skiing on weekdays will cost not 12, but 20 manat for beginners and those who wish to ride on the "normal" course will have to pay 30 manat and above. Equally tourists will spend at the weekend. How much the rent of skiing equipment (ski package with shoes, special clothing) will cost is not reported.

In Gabala, to which tourists get an hour later than to the Gusar mountain resort (2.5-3 hours drive from Baku), the price of travel services is lower. In Tufandag skiing will cost, as well as last season, 15 manat. This corresponds to almost one-day rates in the Georgian ski resorts Gudauri and Bakuriani (30 Lari).

Managers of the complex reduced by 11 manat full supply of skis and clothing, setting the tariff on their rent in the amount of 30 manat. They also set daily differentiation, and if the client stays for a week, the riding pleasure will cost him 150 manat. At the same time they tricked the cost of hourly teaching skiing in the snow, canceling group sessions, thus causing tourists who usually travel to resorts in such groups to pay a lot more. A walk in a cable car to Tufandag costs 10 manat.

Note that both the resorts can take up to 3 000 guests a day.

The summer and winter recreation complex Tufandag belongs to the group of companies Gilan Holding. The construction of mountain recreation Shahdag which is formally subordinate to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism was spent about $ 1 billion from the state budget. By whom and on what grounds its commercial infrastructure (cable ways, ski slopes, etc.) is exploited is not known. But we know that luxury hotels located here are operated by PASHA Hotels and Resorts.

The Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfas Garayev told reporters recently that private companies do have the right to set prices for services in the mountain resorts.

Observers note that, despite the high rates, the demand for ski tourism in Azerbaijan is not abating, and tour operators have booked most of the rooms in the hotels, mainly on the weekend and New Year's days .-- 08B-