The summer tourist season would be officially opened on May 9, State Agency for Tourism head Anelia Kroushkova said on April 14.

"An increasing number of hotel owners are looking to open for business as early as possible to take advantage of the warm weather," Kroushkova told Focus news agency.

With May 1 and May 9 being official holidays in Russia, Bulgarian hotels are targeting Russian tourists at the start of the season. "We should make sure that we attract Russian [tourist] as early as May, because they have the money and also several days off in a row," Kroushkova said.

Romanians, Macedonians and Serbs are also expected to flock to Bulgaria's Black Sea resorts, she added.

The official opening would be held in St. Konstantin and Elena resort, which would celebrate its 100 anniversary in 2008.

The resort had sprung up around a monastery with the same name. It had managed to preserve its originality and to get under control the over-construction, which was the main problem of the other resorts, Kroushkova said. That was why the resort deserved being commemorated with the opening of the summer season, she said.