Ground-breaking deal for skiers
SKIERS and snowboarders in Scotland and Iceland are to benefit from a ‘ground breaking’ deal.
Delegates from the North Atlantic Ski Areas’ Association (NASAA) have agreed season ticket holders in each country will benefit from free skiing or snowboarding at the other country’s resorts.
The accord was determined at the sixth biennial conference, based at Glenshee and The Lecht, by representatives of the nine Icelandic and five Scottish snowsports areas.
The result is that anyone buying a season ticket from CairnGorm Mountain, Glencoe Mountain, Glenshee, Nevis Range or The Lecht, or who has purchased an all-area season pass from Ski- Scotland, can enjoy free uplift at any Ice- landic ski area by showing their season pass.
Heather Negus, chairwoman of Ski- Scotland, said: ‘ We believe this is the first international agreement between all snowsports areas in two countries. While there is cross-border co- operation between individual ski areas elsewhere, what makes this unique is that it includes every lift at every resort in Scotland and Iceland.’
The announcement of the agreement came just days after Scotland’s First Min- ister signed a memorandum of understanding between Scotland and Iceland formalising the working relationship between VisitScotland and the Icelandic Tourist Board in sharing information to their mutual benefit.
Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, added: ‘Both Scotland and Iceland are small countries that punch well above their weight on the global tourism stage.
‘The agreement at the North Atlantic Ski Areas’ Association conference is another great example of innovative partnership work between the two nations and we look forward to welcoming many Icelandic snowsports enthusiasts to Scotland’s stunning mountain resorts in the coming months and years.’