About 3000 spent New Year holidays near Mount Elbrus

In early 2012, during the New Year and Christmas holidays, the vicinities of Mount Elbrus welcomed about three thousand tourists, two times less than last year, said the press-service of the administration of the Elbrus District of Kabardino-Balkaria.

In the opinion of Alice Tarim, the head of the above press service, the low visiting rate of the resort is not only due to the fact that for a long time the area was under the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime, but also to the lack of snow.

The area near Elbrus - a winter resort of Kabardino-Balkaria - is very popular among amateurs of Alpine skiing, free ride, snowboard and other extreme forms of recreation, both Russians and foreigners. The winter holiday season in the area lasts from late December to late March.

"Despite all that, during the New Year holidays, the atmosphere in the Elbrus area was festive," Ms Tarim told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, noting that there was a New Year Carnival, ski and snowboard races, a disco and a bards' concert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has found out that local residents and entrepreneurs are hoping that the situation in February with snow will change for the better; and the number of tourists will go up, since weather forecasters promise that by the end of January the mountainous areas of the republic will see heavy snowfalls.