Bansko and Pamporovo, two of Bulgaria’s leading ski resort, opened the winter season despite the lack of snow and unusually high temperatures.

Both resort are expecting increased number of tourist visits, resulting from the bigger number of available hotels, Dnevnik newspaper reported.

Most foreign visitors to Bansko are expected to arrive from the UK, Russia and Bulgaria’s neighbouring countries. An increase in the number of German visits is also expected.

Despite the intense construction in Pamporovo a number of hotels are not ready for season 2006/2007 and will start functioning the coming year.

At the same time Observer reported that a number of European resorts were suffering from the lack of snow and unusually warm winter.

In case the situation remained unchanged, tourists could be transferred from one resort to another. Some tourists, that have booked a stay in Italy, could be moved to Bulgaria, Observer reported.

According to meteorological forecasts climate changes will lead to a 30 per cent decrease in snowfall by 2050. More than 60 famous resorts will be forced to stop functioning because of these changes, the report said.