Two thirds of Bulgarians will not go on holiday this summer, according to a poll by the National Public Opinion Centre between June 30 and July 3.
Those who cannot afford a holiday include people older than 50, with low education and living in villages.
A third of Bulgarians plan to go somewhere for the summer holidays. Twenty per cent will spend their leave at the seaside, six per cent will go trekking in the mountains, eight per cent will have a rural holiday, four per cent will take a break at their summer houses, and one per cent will travel abroad.
Those going on holiday are mostly up to 29 years of age and holders of higher education diplomas.
The survey found that the residents of Sofia go on holiday more often than residents of other population centres. Sofians are evenly divided in terms of planning to visit a resort and planning to stay in Sofia for their summer break.
The lowest share of Bulgarians going on holiday was registered in 1992 and 1993, when as few as respectively 13 per cent and 12 per cent of the over 18 years of age afforded to have a summer break. Since then, the share of people taking a summer break has been steadily increasing.
Those who can afford a holiday and those who cannot, have different ideas of the best summer break. Asked where they would choose to have a holiday if they had enough money, 14 per cent said they would not take a break or they do not have an idea where to go. These are mostly elderly people, people living in villages and those with low education.
Sixty-seven per cent prefer to spend their holidays in Bulgaria, mostly people of the group who cannot afford a holiday. Thirty-six per cent would go abroad for a holiday if money were no problem.
The most preferred foreign destinations are Spain, Turkey and Greece, as well as some more exotic places such as the Hawaii, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Australia, Egypt, Tibet, Thailand and more than 40 other destinations.
Meanwhile, it appears that Bulgaria’s seaside resorts are currently not suffering from a lack of foreign tourists, despite earlier fears.
About 16 600 tourists were staying in the Albena resort on the northern Black Sea shore of Bulgaria during the current season, which was four percent up as from the like period of 2005. The data was provided on July 13 by Elena Georgieva, marketing and sales executive of the resort.
Thus tour operators’ fears that there would be a drop in the number of tourists due to the World Cup in Germany were dispelled.
Russian tourists numbered 4000 or 45 percent up as from the previous year. UK and Scandinavian tourists have increased by 20 percent and 15 percent, respectively. The number of visitors from neighbouring Romania is three to four-fold higher. Bulgarian tourists are 1400.
The resort operator Dyuni, south of Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) expects the number of tourists visiting its hotels to increase by 8.8 per cent from last year to reach 37 000 by 2007.
“This year about 35 000 people will visit us, and the projected 2007 figure is around 37 000 people. In 2005 between 33 000 and 34 000 people visited Dyuni,” Dyuni guest service manager, Ana Borisova, said.
Dyuni would invest 12 million euro in building a five-star hotel, which would have 255 rooms, by June next year, Borisova also said.
After the new hotel opens, the capacity of Dyuni will increase by some 200 to 300 beds from the current 3500 beds.
Speaking of investment, St Constantine and Elena Holding, owner of the Black Sea resort of the same name, will invest in the construction of tourist facilities in the country’s ski resorts, the company’s manager Marin Mitev said at a working meeting of the National Tourism Board on July 15.
The company has already bought a 60 hectare plot in Bansko, which will be developed into a golf course and a hotel complex, said Mitev.
St Constantine and Elena Holding has also acquired land in Borovets for the construction of a five-star hotel for year-round tourism.
The St Constantine and Elena resort was acquired by Varna-based business group TIM on the local stock exchange in 2003.
The resort, popular with Russian, German and Romanian holiday-makers, has reported a current occupancy rate of 90 per cent.
