PROVINCIA DE HUESCA – The Spanish government has approved the allocation of €26 million in European funds for the construction of a chairlift connecting the ski stations of Formigal and Astún in the Pyrenees.
This initiative is in addition to the €8 million allocated in 2021 to connect Astún and Candanchú. It will position the Aragonese Pyrenees as one of the largest ski areas in the world.
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“It is what is important today for competitiveness, the number of kilometres of the ski area and a minimum time to be able to get to different stations and visit different valleys,” said the president of Grupo Aramón, Marta Gastón. Almost 300 kilometres of slopes will be connected with the project. This would put the Pyrenees in 11th place in the ranking of the largest ski stations in the world. This was also confirmed by Minister Aramón of Economic Affairs of the government of Aragón.
The public-private capital group that manages four ski stations in the community defends that the link project is an opportunity for companies in the sector and “for the socio-economic development of the valleys and its inhabitants”.
According to Tourism of Aragon, “the clientele of the area’s resorts is mainly national,” with barely 6% of skiers coming from other countries. This data contrasts sharply with that of the Catalan Pyrenees, where 30% of skiers in Baqueira Beret (Lleida) are foreigners.
Attracting international visitors
The intention of the competent administrations is to attract international visitors and to convince tour operators of the potential of the slopes, which, with the reforms, would have a terrain comparable to that of Andorra. Although the meteorological conditions must continue to cooperate. There have already been several periods with too little snow this season and the ski season is getting shorter every year.
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