Local talent

"Why would you say Bansko is better than, for example, Borovets or Pamporovo?" I asked.
"I don’t know. I never watch them but I am happy if they prosper," he said in the manner of a seasoned politician. "All three municipalities and operators have different visions. We have made a few small mistakes although we have always complied with the laws in Bulgaria. I hope in the next two or three years, however, that the municipality of Bansko will help turn our town into a European resort."

"Our development is different from Pamporovo and Borovets. They are just resorts and the nearby towns of Samokov, Chepelare and Smolyan gain nearly nothing from the ski resorts on their doorsteps, while Bansko is a real town with a permanent population of 10 000. Usually, if you go to a mehana or cafe you are served by a citizen of Bansko, which benefits Bansko." This was the rationale Kravarov employed when he refused developers the right to build hotels higher up the slopes away from the town itself.

Although there has been an influx of bar and restaurant owners who also have operations on the Black Sea coast, his claims are supported by the figures.
"When I came to office 11 years ago, Bansko had an unemployment rate of 30 per cent and the region as a whole had 70 per cent unemployment. Since we have developed the town with new hotels and apartments,  while protecting the old centre,  we now have a requirement for 10 000 workers a year to come to Bansko."
I ask Kravarov about the property boom which resulted in a significant influx in foreigners permanently moving to Bansko. How did he view them and how did the local population treat them?

"They are treated like locals," he laughed. "They are invited and they do participate in our events." He said that most of the expats, about 200 plus, were actively involved in the tourist industry and were helping Bansko prosper. He cited James Hughes, a British hotelier, who was not only organising a non-profit classical music festival starting this summer, which he hopes will grow into a week-long event, but who was also instrumental in planting about 100 000 saplings around Bansko.

I joked about the profits in the local bars being supported all year round now there were so many British residents in the region. "Sometimes when they get drunk we  let them sleep in the police station. But our police are very gentle with them!" said the mayor.  

Kravarov said that he is actually planning a "Foreigners’ Day" for Bansko. An occasion to mark and celebrate the different nations that have settled within the region, showcasing different foods, cultures and even "folklore". Quite how the residents of Bansko will react to an invasion of English "Morris Men", I don’t quite know, but his idea supports the notion that Bansko’s  experience of its newest citizens has been positive.

What he was most proud of, apart from the positive development of Bansko’s tourism infrastructure?
Kravarov said that his municipality required very little funding from central government and that, to the best of his knowledge, his town was the only one in Bulgaria that had been able to successfully renovate and improve its entire sewer and water systems. It appears that, since new construction is coming to a halt, he will be able to deliver improved roads across the town.

"But we have also made mistakes," he said. "There are many things we would have done differently. In our defence, however, it is hard not to make some mistakes when you are moving as fast as we have in Bansko. We used the moment when we had funding, both EU and private funds, to develop the town into something special. We will not see development like this in Bulgaria again in the next 10-15 years."

The mayor’s honesty impressed me. Few locations around the world have developed as fast as Bansko and look as if they are going to keep developing in such a positive way. Most of Bansko’s residents I spoke to were happy with Kravarov’s two terms in office and, considering the relatively small population of only 10 000 people, they have a lot to be happy about.