YOUNG BEACH VISITORS
On August 4 2008, 43 children from China’s Sichuan province, hit by the disastrous May 12 earthquake, arrived in Bulgaria to spend their beach holidays in the local Black Sea resort of Kranevo, the Foreign Ministry’s press service said. The holiday is provided under humanitarian aid granted to China by the Bulgarian Government. The children, aged between 12 and 16, will also visit the Ribaritsa mountain resort and a holiday home near Sofia.
ANCIENT SHIP DESTROYED
An ancient vessel uncovered by US oceanographer Robert Ballard, the discoverer of the Titanic and Bismark wrecks, has been destroyed by fishing boats’ trawls, according to Bulgarian-language Monitor daily. The vessel lay in the Black Sea’s waters 30km north of the town of Varna when it was discovered in 2002. Although the use of trawls is banned, the law does not seem to enforce the regulation, said Hristina Angelova, the head of a project for protection of the Black Sea Thracian cultural heritage.
FEWER CAMPSITES
Campsites along the Black Sea coast continue to disappear. The sites are being removed to clear space for holiday hotels and residential buildings. Campsite Smokinya, south of Sozopol, one of the few left, welcomed a large number of visitors in July 2008. But local environmentalists warned about a construction that started in the southern edge of Smokinya beach near nature landmark Agalina Cape where, among other stipulations, the law prohibits any kind of construction.
NEW ONE
A new holiday complex called Soley is planned for construction at the Black Sea resort of Skorpilivtsi between Varna and Bourgas and near Stara Planina. Soley will have 90 apartments. The price could vary between 1100 and 1550 euro a sq m, Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik reported.
SALES DROP
A sharp drop in the sale of Black Sea holiday homes is expected by the end of 2008, Pari daily reported on August 1. Lux Imoti (Luxurious Estates) forecasts 30-40 per cent fewer deals. Varna–based agency Foros expects a decrease of only five to six per cent. British citizens, until recently the most prominent buyers of seaside properties, are selling their bought-for-profit apartments at a loss. Property bought for 1100 euro a sq m two or three years ago now fetches between 850-900 euro a sq m.
