Preliminary bookings for the 2010 summer season on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast are currently down by 10 per cent on the previous year, Blagoi Ragin from the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (BHRA) was quoted as saying by Dnevnik daily on February 25 2010.

"The promotional offers will continue until March 2010 but it is possible that some hoteliers will extend them to a further date," he said

Ragin also noted that this year proprietors are offering "additional bonuses as part of the package deal", Dnevnik reported.

Between May 18-23, the board of the international hotel and restaurant association will hold meetings at Sunny Beach and the Golden Sands resorts on the Black Sea.

"This is supposed to boast the image of resorts and compensate for the decreased levels of advertisements in Bulgaria in 2010," Ragin said.

Meanwhile, a total of 347 representatives from 20 nations will participate in the Vacation and Spa Expo Forum held at the National Palace of Culture NDK in Sofia from February 25-27.

Of this list 284 are Bulgarian and 63 are foreign representatives. The tour operators hold the biggest sway with about 40 per cent of all "kiosks" allocated to them, while hoteliers are second with 28 per cent. Another 11 per cent will be reserved for municipal representatives and other tourist companies, Dnevnik said.

Among the foreign guests in the Sofia forum this year will be companies from Slovenia, Dubai, Peru, South Africa, Italy and the Dominican Republic. Some of these countries are participating at the event for the first time. Meanwhile, Greek and Turkish companies are expected to "show up in force" , the report says.