The most spectacular ski area in the country, thanks to its impressive landscapes and its huge potential, Transalpina Voineasa, faces, due to significant difficulties related to revenues – which are less than half of the estimated potential – major challenges. However, it manages to remain a serious competitor of other traditional resorts in the country, being among the first to open its slopes every year and among the last to close, while continuing to invest in infrastructure development.
Transalpina Voineasa is one of the first choices of those who want a vacation in the mountains, on the ski slopes. This year, the season started on November 30, 2024, and the slopes remained open daily from December 12. However, few are aware of the difficulties that this particular ski area faces.
The problems are rooted in the creation of the slopes in an area with huge tourist potential – probably the biggest in the country – without proper infrastructure prepared in advance. Although there was a well-developed infrastructure in the past, most of it has been abandoned and left in ruins since the Revolution.
The slopes with the most spectacular view in the country Collage DMS
“We only charge 30-40% based on the conditions, number of slopes and skiable surfaces”
Due to the lack of tourist infrastructure, in all these years since its inauguration (2012), the ski area has operated at a loss. This explains why the managers of the slopes say that the receipts are less than half of the estimates. However, they manage, year after year, to open the slopes and even make investments.
“A few more accommodation locations have opened, but far too few compared to the area’s potential. This is why we continue to suffer, given what we offer. Currently, revenues are somewhere around only 30-40%, compared to the conditions offered, the number of slopes and skiable surfaces. This situation is caused exclusively by the shortage of service and accommodation spaces”explains Adrian Epure, administrator of the Transalpina Voineasa Ski Area, for “The Truth”.
Due to the lack of spaces, many tourists prefer to stay in neighboring counties
In a recent interview, the administrator of the Transalpina Voineasa slopes discussed important aspects of local tourism, such as accommodation, roads, accessibility, facilities and services offered, but also about myths and the tourist offer in the area, as well as other topics that will be detailed in the following editions.
Regarding the accommodation deficit, which directly affects the revenues of the ski area, Adrian Epure stated: “In the area Otter – There are approximately 600-800 places to stay in Obârsia Lotrului, and around 700-800 places in the Voineasa area. However, not all units there are classified. However, many tourists also choose to stay in unclassified units”.
13 km of closed road, due to lack of profitability. Around hundreds of kilometers
Despite the problems related to accommodation in the area, some tourists prefer or preferred to stay in the neighboring counties, the mountain area being located on the border with Alba, Sibiu, Hunedoara and Gorj counties. But, unfortunately, most of the Transalpina (DN67C) is closed during the winter, including the sections between Obârșia Lotrului (Vâlcea) and Rânca (Gorj) and between Vâlcea and Alba/Sibiu, between Obârșia Lotrului and Curpăt. Thus, access for many tourists who came to ski, especially from the west of the country, was restricted.
“Many times, our tourists even stay in Petroșani. In the past years, when the Curpăt – Obârsia Lotrulu section was open, tourists also came to the Sebeș Valley. Unfortunately, the authorities have not opened this section, claiming that not of interestalthough we receive questions on this topic every day. Many of the tourists from the west of the country had to detour much more due to the closure of the 13 km between Curpăt and Obârsia Lotrului, in the last two seasons”explained the representatives of the Transalpina Ski Area, underlining one of the reasons why the revenues did not reach the desired potential, despite the existing interest. Find it here more details about the access of tourists from the west of the country to the slopes of Transalpina Ski.
The road to Petroșani, which is part of the DN7A and connects the Olt Valley with the Jiului Valley through the heart of the mountains, is also accessible in winter: “It has been partially rehabilitated and is cleared of snow daily, like the Voineasa – Obârsia Lotrului section (also DN7A)”.
Myth debunked: “There are periods when guesthouses and cottages remain empty”
Confusion related to the lack of accommodation occurs mainly during holidays and weekends, otherwise there are no major problems, according to administrator Adrian Epure. It claims: “The difference is noticeable in the peak periods of the season, when more accommodation would be needed. One way or another, the wrong impression has been created that there is no accommodation in the area. Many times, tourists abandon the idea of coming to the area from the start, although there are periods when the guesthouses and cabins remain empty”.
Fighting preconceived ideas
The administration of the ski area also provided clarifications regarding the lack of investment in the area: “We sent a pretty strong signal to potential investors. Indeed, in relation to the legal situation, at least near the slopes, it is quite difficult at the moment to build. There are lands that are involved in litigation or that are part of the forest fund, and to remove them from the circuit, very large investments are required. But a preconceived idea was also created – for which we are currently working hard to change – that this would not be a serious business”.
According to the current administration, the lack of interest from investors was also amplified by the fact that, until recently, the slopes opened late: “Unfortunately, under the old administration, the seasons started very late, towards the end of January. In recent years, we have demonstrated that we open among the first and close among the last, relative to the snowpack (the most persistent in the whole country – ed.)”.
The paradox at Transalpina Voineasa could become a case study, being probably the only ski area in the country that does not face either a lack of snow or a lack of interest from tourists, but only a shortage of accommodation, in the context in which it has many accommodation units, but most of them are locked.
The paradox of Voineasa: the resort with abandoned hotels, but with a shortage of accommodation
For those who don’t know, the Transalpina Ski Area is located in the Voineasa mountain resort, Vâlcea county, on the border of the Lotru and Parâng Mountains, based on Lake Vidra – often confused with Vidraru from Argeș. Access is on DN7A, which starts from DN7 (Valea Oltului), intersects DN67C – the famous Transalpina road – and reaches Petroșani, in Valea Jiului.
The history of the ski area is linked to a great dream of Nicolae Ceaușescu, who intended to transform the area into a destination for the Winter Olympics. Thus, during the communist period, the resorts of Voineasa and Vidra were born, and a holiday village was built at Obârsia Lotrului, the last town on the road to Transalpina. Currently, these three locations are integrated into the Voineasa resort, although they are separated by a distance of approximately 40 kilometers, which makes it one of the most extensive locations in Romania.
In the 1970s and 1980s, with the construction of the most complex hydropower system in the country, Lotru-Ciunget, the first accommodation units were built in the Voineasa – Vidra area. Unfortunately, none of these are functional anymore today. The last hotels were closed at the end of last year.
Despite the existence of several hotels, villas and cottages, part of the union heritage, they are completely out of the tourist circuit. The only accommodation options are offered by private individuals in the three settlements mentioned.
This paradoxical situation explains why the accommodation capacity in the vicinity of the Transalpina slopes is so low, despite the landscape of particular beauty and the huge potential.
Beyond accommodation, the development of the slopes is far below the level of the area’s possibilities. At one point, there was talk of creating 80 kilometers of slopes. But currently, the field offers less than 15 kilometers, and the last five are only a slope in the making, part of an unapproved ski route, open in the winter season 2024-2025. There is also an expansion project submitted to the Ministry of Development, but it is not known when it will be considered for funding
Inaugurated in 2012, thanks to the initiative of the Minister of Tourism at the time, Elena Udrea, the slopes at Transalpina Voineasa are equipped with modern facilities, such as gondola lift, chair lift and ski lift. However, the ski area is still far from reaching its true potential: the 80 kilometers of slopes foreseen in the original project. If this dream were to come true, Transalpina Voineasa could compete not only with the top resorts in Romania, but also with the famous alpine resorts in Switzerland and Austria. Until then, however, the spectacular landscapes remain the only element truly comparable to those of the great European destinations.
