Last-minute bookings where hoteliers reduced standard prices by 20 to 25 per cent were the engine behind Bulgaria’s once-booming seaside tourism industry in the traditionally bumper months of July and August 2009, hoteliers and tour operators said.

As the economic downturn made holidaymakers snap up their purses, the share of last-minute bookings widened from a humble 10 to 15 per cent of all in previous periods to 30-40 per cent this season, when individual hotels went as far as 50 per cent discounts.

Coupled with the shorter tourist season, this hit revenues in a sector that generates about 14 per cent of Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP).

"Tourist numbers dropped by about 10 to 12 per cent this year but revenue slumped by more than 30 per cent," Sunny Beach owners' union chairperson Elena Ivanova said.

Her estimates were echoed by Georgi Shterev, who chairs the owners’ union in Bulgaria’s other upmarket resort of Golden Sands, on the northern Black Sea coast. He said that tourist numbers had dwindled by 10-15 per cent as revenues had come in 20-25 per cent shorter.

Despite the sharp decline, Bulgaria has scored higher than all of its main competitors expect for neighbouring Turkey, which hopes to eke out a five per cent rise.

As the peak season draws to an end, hoteliers and tour operators are putting the finishing touches on summer 2010 deals, when most companies will slash the number of hotels they work with but do their best to keep tourist numbers unchanged. In addition, they will seek ways to encourage early bookings through juicier offers and special extras to packages.

Source: Dnevnik.bg