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Bansko has been declared for the 5th consecutive year as Bulgaria's Best Ski Resort. The prize comes from the highest instance in the tourism industry – The World Ski Awards. The jewel of the Pirin Mountain received the equivalent of the Oscar on the red carpet at the A-ROSA Hotel in Kitzbuehel (Austria) and is ranked among the 26 best destinations in the world. The 16-week online race started at the beginning of June until September 22nd and was attended by 202 top-resorts on 5 continents. More than 1.6 million clients and professionals from 143 countries participated the voting process at Worldskiawards.com turning it into the largest survey in the industry.

"It is an honor and we are proud winning the award in the year with the record-breaking vote so far," stated the first lady of the concessionaire Ulen Mrs. Maya Hristoskova and the marketing director Ivan Obreykov. They received the award, accompanied by the director of the ski school Georgi Glavchev, his deputy Yanko Popov, the manager of the ski tracks Georgi Popov-Tumbe and the manager of the facilities Ivan Dragosinov. All six of them dressed in traditional folk costumes provoked a real furor at the ceremony, being the most attractive under the spotlight.

In addition, the award for Best Ski Hotel went to the glamorous showcase of the Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko. In a flawless dress the new general manager Natalya Kashishskaya took the statuette and thanked the guests and her team. The Kempinski Hotel won this award in 2013, 2014 and 2015 but surprisingly not in 2016.

Bansko is among only 9 resorts in the world with a full set of 5 prizes in all 5 editions of the World Ski Awards, which is an undisputed indicator for high level. The small town with population around 10 000 people is on the top since 2013. The other resorts with such an achievement are Kitzbühel - the most iconic winter center in Austria, the highest European resort Val Thorens, that was awarded World’s Best Ski Resort 2017, the German symbol of the World Cup Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the pearl in the Russian crown Rosa Khutor, where Sochi Olympics 2012 took place, the Swedish Are - 2-time host of the World Ski Championships, the exclusive Swiss Laax , the Norwegian Trysil and the famous American Deer Valley Resort.