Bulgaria's first eco-hotel, in line with the relevant EU standards, would open no earlier than 2009, Denimila Dencheva, senior expert with the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs, told the Ecohotel conference held in Sofia.

There were number of tourism facilities in Bulgaria that put the word “eco”, when describing the services they offer. Some of them have acquired various certificates, while others use the symbol without any authorisation, Dnevnik daily reported on March 13.

The main challenges facing Bulgarian business trying to comply with environmental standards was the high cost of eco facilities, the lack of adequate information on certification systems and criteria and of the economic benefits from eco compliance, Zornitsa Stavreva, executive director of the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism, was quoted by Dnevnik daily as saying.

Research by the World Tourism Organisation showed Bulgaria would have around 10 EU-compliant eco-hotels by 2020.

Businesses looking to secure an eco certificate must fulfill 37 compulsory and 47 discretionary criteria, including a renewable energy share in overall power consumption of 22 per cent and a limit of 12 liters per minute on the water discharge from showers and taps.

The most popular eco markings at the moment are Ecohotel, Authentic Bulgaria, Pan Parks Foundation and ISO 14001.