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Large-scale developments will start in the 20-year-old Sípark Mátraszentistván (northern Hungary) in line with the Mátra Regional Active Tourism Strategy adopted by the government in 2021.
Hungary’s top ski resort is scheduled to receive a new four-person chairlift this year, the components of which have already arrived from Austria. At the same time, the conversion of the ski park into a four-season resort will begin. Thus, the tourist season in Mátra, currently limited to the winter season and lasts two and a half to three months on average, can be extended to ten months, Világgazdaság quotes a statement by the operating company.
The first stage of the development will be implemented through a private investment of about HUF 1.5 billion (EUR 3.7 million) by the Hungarian family-owned business that has been operating the ski resort for 20 years.
The improvements will be carried out in several phases. In the first phase, new chairlifts will be installed to increase transport capacity, as well as new ski slopes to reduce waiting times. The new ski slope system will link two settlements – Mátraszentistván and Mátraszentlászló – in a unique way in Hungary, creating a “ski carousel,” as it is known from the Alps. The ski center will be a few minutes’ walk from the accommodations in both villages.
Photo: MTI/Komka Péter
The “four-season” transformation has been a priority in the ski areas of the Alps and the Tatras for the last decade and a half, and the developments in Mátraszentistván will take into account the best examples from abroad and sustainability and energy efficiency aspects, reads the statement.
“We have been planning the developments for a long time, and it was an important confirmation for us that the investment plans of the Ski Park were included in the Mátra Regional Active Tourism Strategy adopted by the government.
Throughout Europe, the four-season operation is the key to sustainability, and this is what guarantees the winter operation of the Ski Park in the long term, and it is no exaggeration to say that the investment is also of paramount importance for the survival of the domestic skiing opportunities,”
said Péter Kőrösi, the managing director of the company.
Annual breakdown of the improvements:
2025:
2026:
From 2027 onward, a new hut and reception building will be built, and the ski slopes of Mátraszentlászló will be connected to the system, with the old ski lift replaced by a modern one.
Via Világgazdaság, Featured image: MTI/Komka Péter