SEPTEMBER has arrived and tour operators, travel agencies and hoteliers are anxious to thumb through their revenues of the passing tourist season, which involved every fifth person in Bulgaria in one way or another this summer.

However, revenues of private tourism entrepreneurs seem not to have reached a satisfactory level, considering their huge investments in new seaside construction. This summer tourism will be remembered worldwide for the optimistic forecasts, overbooked package tours, over advertised and unrealistic TV reports, complaints by foreign tourists, high prices and building in progress.

The already ordinary and expected Sunday publication, this time from The Observer (August 29) criticises Bulgaria's seaside for its notorious construction works and complaining tourists. Meanwhile, Dimitar Hadjinikolov, Deputy Economy Minister in charge of tourism, assured Bulgarian tourists celebrating tourism's 109th birthday on the same day, that this year's four million holidaymakers present a steady increase in arrivals.

Funnily enough, the negative imagery in foreign media about the bad service, noise, unfinished construction sites and high prices, seemed not to be taken seriously by all those who chose to visit Bulgaria for their annual holidays.

Lynn, a 39-year-old from Cleveland, who with husband Andy and two children Lauren and Lewis, and who had just returned from a two-week break in Bulgaria, told The Observer, said that the hotel had been open for only a week before they arrived, but it should never have opened at all.

"They were putting the roof on the building throughout our stay, the plate glass doors were being fixed in the dining rooms while we were eating breakfast, the plumbing was leaking everywhere and the walls were damp. The staff were rude and the kids' club even managed to lose the children," the Brits said.

They further added that their holiday was so bad in terms of accommodation that the tour operator offered to refund half of the £2,500 cost of their all-inclusive break.

Lynn's family are not the sole Brits who were taken aback by glossy advertisements on TV. The consumer watchdog Holiday Travel Watch is currently receiving hundreds of complaints every week from disgruntled British holidaymakers in Bulgaria, the Observer said.

Contrary to all the negative coverage about all-the-year-round tourism destination, statistics show that foreign tourists spent about 96 million leva on hotel accommodation in Bulgaria only in the first six months of the year. This figure was provided by the National Statistical Institute data, and also showed that the total amount of hotel revenues from Bulgarian and foreign tourists was 127.1 million leva. The money came from the use of the 156 180 beds available and offered to tourists in the country. Of course, the highest percentage of beds available was in Varna and Bourgas, on the Black Sea Coast.

The seaside is not the only place that has been invaded by tourists. To the list of Golden Sands, Varna, Sunny Beach and Sunny Day one cannot help adding Bansko was a popular destination for Brits, Germans, Belgians, Greeks and well-to-do Bulgarians. Much to their disappointment, some entrepreneurs have already bought spots in Bansko, while others will have to put up with a piece of land in the nearby villages.

Bansko's mayor Alexander Kravarov recently said that more than 20 houses have been bought in the village of Obidim (20 kilometres away from Bansko). Prices have increased dramatically, reaching 20 000 to 30 000 leva per house.

Nearby Melnik drew most tourists this summer. The influx of tourists into the town located in the foot of the Pirin Mountain gave the opportunity for every house in the town to become a kind of hotel. Accommodation within private houses seems to be a more attractive proposition for tourists. A room a night costs between four and six leva, which is one tenth of the cost in Albena, Sunny Beach and St Vlas all-inclusive packages offering bed and breakfast accommodation.

Foreign investors have found new opportunities despite some saturated tourism sub-sectors. Some have launched investment plans for balneology tourism. One of many investors is Hans Mattison, representative of Mattison & Co. investment company, that has expressed interest in investing 150 million euro in a balneologic centre in Vurshets (north-western spa area). Bulgaria is starting to compete with resorts as well-known as Baden-Baden (Germany) and Karlovi Vari (Czech Republic). The only obstacle to have a central European-type of spa resort is the lack of advertising undertaken by the state, which currently owns the resorts. The only spa resort that is included in international catalogues is Albena's spa because it is developed as an alternative to the seaside tourism.

It is sad to view balneology tourism as a medical practice, based on the origin of the word balneology (in medicine). And further, the 1300 mineral springs don't have the required infrastructure and don't appear to satisfy international standards. Such places are visited mostly by people with health problems but Devin and Velingrad's mineral springs might not meet their requirements. The venues are not prepared and staff have not been appropriately trained. In this respect, Bulgaria's unique natural and commercial resources are not being developed but investor interest in them should increase, experts comment. Scandinavian tourists, Brits, Germans and Russians are all an important markets for spa tourism, which should not be underestimated. And places known as Hisar, Vurshets and Devin, Velingrad and Sliven should be refurbished and marketed. If they want to attract tourists to their rejuvenating services, then they need to discard their worn out image of being places crowded by old guard party leaders and power brokers.