Winter sports, which are evaluated within the scope of recreational tourism, have an important place in Turkey’s tourism offer. However, the problems related to the establishment locations of ski centers cause inefficiency in winter sports. This case limits recreational tourism activities and causes negative situations to arise in terms of the provinces’ future position where ski centers have been established. This situation, encountered in many provinces of Turkey, is also existing for Van Abalı Ski Center and Bitlis Nemrut Kardelen Ski Center. The efficiency problems of these ski centers arising from the choice of location are the subject of this study. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to present to all stakeholders the fact that the problems caused by the incorrect choice of location of the ski centers affect the environmental problems, especially economic losses, and potential winter sports investments. This study was produced as part of a master's thesis on the winter tourism potential of Van and Bitlis provinces and focused on the accuracy and efficiency of the location selection of the ski centers in the research area. Field observations were carried out for 3 seasons with subject matter experts in order to determine the location characteristics of the ski resorts. In this context, an interview consisting of six questions was conducted primarily with subject matter experts and business managers in order to show whether the location choices are correct and businesses work efficiently. In addition, three questions of a survey consisting of 23 questions applied in the master's thesis were used for this study to support fieldwork and interviews. The overall result from all these data collection tools demonstrated that the location choices of Abalı and Nemrut Kardelen Ski resorts were incorrect. For this reason, some years skiing cannot be done for a whole season (2018-2019), while in some years only skiing can be done for a very limited period of time. Undoubtedly, this situation both cannot meet the recreational activity needs of the people living in the region and stands as a major obstacle to possible winter tourism investments in the region.