The accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU at the beginning of 2007 will support the tourist industry in Eastern Europe and of the Balkans, in particular. This was forecast by a leading British online tourist company Direct-holidays.co.uk, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA on March 9. According to the company, the number of tourists to Bulgaria this year will increase by 10 per cent and will reach a total of 5.6 million.

Bulgaria’s EU accession is increasing its popularity as a tourist destination. The British company has hired consultants acquainted with Eastern Europe, as it expects increased interest to the region. The sales manager of Direct-holidays.co.uk, Alex Pilkington, said that tourism in the Balkans was growing fast as the price-performance ratio of the product was very good compared to Western competitors. Tourists held that holidays in the Balkans offered the best prices for tourist products both in summer and winter. According to Pilkington, Bulgaria offered the cheapest holidays in continental Europe so far, with Borovets and Pamporovo being the most popular resorts. The budget airlines also contributed to tourists being attracted to the country. Due to the competition among them, prices were expected to drop even more, the British company said.

The chairperson of the National Hospitality Management Club, Iliyan Ivanov, told a news conference on March 9 that by 2016, the tourist sector would account for 16 to 16.4 per cent of Bulgaria’s GDP. World Tourism Council researchers expected a 3.9 per cent annual increase in revenue from foreign tourists, and a 5.3 per cent increase in revenue from Bulgarian tourists in Bulgaria and abroad. Investments in the sector are expected to go up by 3.7 per cent while the Bulgarian Government’s spending on tourism is seen as likely to increase by 3.3 per cent. Currently, tourism accounts for 14 per cent of GDP. It provides for 140 000 jobs. During the summer season, employment increases.