Parking has become a problem at some Bulgarian Black Sea resorts such as Zlatni Pyasutsi (Golden Sands), near Varna.

The resort was flooded by thousands of Romanian tourists in the last weekend of April and its streets and alleys were crowded with vehicles with Romanian licence plates. Because Varna is only 200km from the Romanian border, the city and its surroundings have become destinations of choice for Romanian visitors. The well-maintained road infrastructure has made it possible for Romanians to cover the distance between Bucharest and Varna in less than four hours.

As European Union members, Bulgaria and Romania have opened their joint border, and all that is needed for motorists from one country to cross into the other is a green card car insurance policy. Lower prices and the quality of services have made Bulgaria a top destination for Romanian tourists.

However, resorts such as Zlatni Pyasutsi are designed for tourists who are brought by bus from the airport. But Romanians usually, if not always, come by car.

According to some estimates, the last weekend of April saw close to 20 000 Romanians visit the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Simple arithmetic shows that this meant at least an additional 5000 cars, and, in turn, massive traffic jams. Reports on Bulgarian National Television showed exactly this.

Added to this was the problem that few Romanians speak Bulgarian and vice versa.

The other big summer resort on the Black Sea, Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach), near the town of Bourgas, seems to have resolved this problem. As of June 1, special terms will be applied in the resort when it comes to entering it by car.

This means that only vehicles that have passes issued by Nessebar municipality (which has jurisdiction over Slunchev Bryag) can enter the resort.

For every one else, there are Nessebar’s public buses or the good ol’ walking. The aim was to protect Slunchev Bryag from massive traffic jams or becoming a big parking area, Nessebar municipality said.

Besides the parking in Zlatni Pyasutsi, foreign tourists were experiencing problems with health care, as The Sofia Echo previously reported. According to Grisha Fidanov, head of the Zlatni Pyasutsi hotel union, foreign tourists were still facing the work of unlicensed medical centres in the resorts.

The Varna regional health inspectorate will soon start inspections concerning the medical aid offered to tourists and the availability of emergency centres in the resorts, Fidanov said.