In Autumn 2015, Crystal conducted research¹ to find out which ski resort has the most bars per square kilometre – thus crowning it the Ultimate Après-ski Resort.

According to Google AdWords, a search engine analytics tool, the term ‘après-ski’ was searched over 22,500 times between December 2014 and April 2015, showing that skiers are not just looking for a huge ski area, but also for venues to let their hair down.

So, which resort came out on top?

The French may have coined the term but the Bulgarians have taken the crown: the Ultimate Après-ski Resort is Borovets in Bulgaria. This reasonably priced and cheerful resort has approximately four bars per square kilometre, ahead of the French resorts of Meribel and Courchevel, in 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively. The lively resort of Pas de la Casa in Andorra came in 4^th with around 1.8 bars per square kilometre followed closely by the more traditional Austrian ski resort of Schladming.

With pints costing little more than a pound during happy hour, it’s no surprise Borovets has become the Ultimate Après-ski Resort.

A representative from Borovets tourism office commented on the result, “To have quality après, you need quality avant-ski, and Borovets has that too. The ski-in and ski-out resort in the highest Balkan mountain combines perfect skiing conditions with daily visits to rich cultural and historic sites, unique local cuisine and unrivalled hospitality.”

Last September Crystal launched their video, featuring five Ski Explorers; Mile Muncher, Piste Princess, Gadget Guru, Park Rat, and Après Animal, and incorporated them in to their holiday search panel of the Crystal website.

Vicky Hales, Customer Engagement Director Crystal Ski Holidays commented: “We get that our customers all love ski holidays for different reasons, and our Après Animal Ski Explorer character has been really popular on social media. Skiers can now search our deals by which character they are – so après lovers can find the perfect holiday, but time is running out to grab a deal to the snow this season, so they better be quick!”

www.crystalski.co.uk