The new winter season will officially start in Bulgaria on December 1. However, tour operators said they had encountered various difficulties in their attempts to fill up the capacity of Bulgaria's winter resorts.
The capacity of local ski resorts and the development of the main winter markets for the country, the UK, Russia and Bulgaria’s neighbours, was disproportionate. This was the conclusion of a survey by Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik.
Bed capacity in the main Bulgarian ski resorts had increased by more than 10 000 and now exceeded 50 000 beds. This was the result of the construction boom, which had led to an increase in accommodation of about 25 per cent in just one year, according to information from hotels and municipalities.
This fact, however, did not mean more tourists were visiting to Bulgaria; on the contrary, data from the main tour operators showed that the number of tourists who were planning to visit Bulgaria this winter would, at best, equal that of the previous year. According to the survey, the reasons were the memories of the past winter when there was little snow and the over-construction at Bulgarian winter resorts.
Solvex tourist agency manager Galin Georgiev said that the imbalance between the rate of construction and the bookings may even lead to a price decline.
Currently, the construction was happening most quickly in Bansko in Pirin Mountain. The local municipality said that this winter there would be 13 000 to14 000 beds. In 2006 the capacity was 9000. The neighbouring villages of Razlog and Dobrinishte also have also seen the construction of dozens of new residential complexes.
Rhodope Mountain’s biggest winter resort Pamporovo has seen a similar rate of construction, while in Rila Mountain after the end of this season the construction of the Super Borovets resort is planned to start in earnest.
About two thirds of the foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria during the winter season come from Britain. Most big tourist operators said, however, that bookings in the UK market had been slow. TUI representative for Bulgaria Valentin Yosifov said that his company had “quite attractive” offers, with which they claimed they had succeeded in halting the decline in their tourist number by 10-15 per cent. Georgiev said he expected the British market to decline by about 20 per cent in comparison to the previous winter.
Balkan Holidays had the most optimistic forecast, registering a 15 per cent increase in bookings by November 22.
The second most important winter market for Bulgaria is Russians. There had been an increase in the bookings by Russian tourists but, according to tour operators, it would not compensate for the decline in the British market. The leading companies registering Russian tourists for Bulgaria are Alma Tour and Solvex. They expected an increase in bookings of between 10 and 30 per cent compared to the past year. Balkantourist manager Nedyalka Sandalska forecast an increase of 15 per cent.
The complicated visa system between Bulgaria and Turkey was preventing many potential Turkish skiers from visiting the local winter resorts, Bulgarian language daily Mediapool reported. This was the message from the Turkish ambassador to Bulgaria Mehmed Gyudjyuk, who met Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce president Bozhidar Danev on November 1. Gyudjyuk requested the meeting because, according to him, the new visa issuing procedure for Turkish residents was too complicated and was a barrier to faster business development on the both sides of the border. According to Gyudjyuk, an easier visa system would increase the flow of Turkish tourists to Bulgarian winter resorts.
Data from the Bulgarian Agency for Tourism showed that for the period January-September 2007 the number of Turkish tourists increased by almost 20 per cent and reached 209 000, while for the whole 2006 (before the European Union visa system was implemented) there were slightly more than 231 000 people.
Consumer Protection Commission president Damyan Lazarov recommended, in an interview with Focus news agency on November 20, that people going on organised holidays should use only registered tourist agencies. Lazarov said it was very important that before their trip consumers understood the conditions of their contract with the tour operator, the journey duration, means of transport, final destination and ways of payment. When the signing the contract, tourists should ask for a photocopy of it and a receipt.
Meanwhile, Blagoi Ragin, chairman of the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association said, on November 18, that this year would be one of the best winters for Bulgaria because, according to forecasts, the weather conditions would be very favourable.
