According to the statistics, Bulgaria’s total turnover from tourism in 2007 reached 3.75 billion euro. Most of the money came from foreign tourists as the country’s revenue from Bulgarian tourists was just 1.65 billion euro, the chairperson of the Institute of Analyses and Assessment in Tourism Roumen Draganov told The Sofia Echo.
Bulgarians went on 15.7 million “visits” in their home country. Only 5.9 million of the visits were considered tourist ones, the other 9.8 million were just “excursions” (trips of less than 24 hours), Draganov said. Of the 5.9 million tourist visits, only 980 000 tourists went on holiday packages to the seaside, 1.147 million tourists went to the ski resorts, 182 000 joined religious and cultural trips and 190 000 participated in eco and rural tourism.
In comparison, Bulgarians went on four million trips abroad, 3.3 million of which were considered tourist visits, and spent 1.95 billion euro outside the country. A simple comparison shows Bulgarians are spending more money abroad than in their country.
To try and reverse the statistics, local tourist organisations are running a campaign to attract Bulgarian tourists back to local resorts. The initiative, Bulgaria: Paradise for Bulgarians Too, was officially announced in the end of November 2007. Its long-term goal is to change the views of the Bulgarian people, media, business and institutions towards holidays in Bulgaria.
Vladimir Tanev from the organisation committee of the campaign told The Sofia Echo that as the purchasing power of Bulgarians increases, they have to be thought of as acting in a more “European” way, planning their holidays in advance. “Currently an unemployed German family pays 20 euro per night in July and August in Bulgaria’s summer resorts, while a Bulgarian family staying next door pays 100 euro. The reason is that the Germans plan in advance”, Tanev said.
A major framework agreement for discounts for holidays booked in advance was being prepared between the campaign organisers, hotel businesses and others involved in the tourism sector. A reservation made three months in advance, for example, would save the tourist 10 per cent of the cost of the holiday, Tanev said.
“Our goal in 2008 is to convince at least one in 10 of all Bulgarians who travelled abroad to spend their holidays in Bulgaria,” he said.
Campaign initiatives include a public discussion at the end of March, with Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, who is the patron of the campaign.
In May, the campaign will present at the fourth annual meeting of the Bulgaria media and give a lecture on the role of the Bulgarian media in attracting Bulgarian tourists to the country.
The Education Ministry also joined the campaign and by the end of 2008 Bulgarians schools will hold an open class on the topic of Bulgarian paradise. This educational part of the campaign aims at creating awareness among future visitors to Bulgarian resorts, Tanev said.
According to him, Bulgaria can attract local tourists if the state institutions take care of the infrastructure and provide more money for advertising.
Draganov, who is also involved in the campaign, agrees that Bulgarians can be encouraged to holiday in Bulgaria through improved adverts and information, as well as by offering tourist packages at attractive prices. Discounts for companies sending their employees on holiday, as well as vouchers from the National Health Insurance Fund for balneology, spa and wellness programmes were also a way to attract Bulgarians, he said.
The union of investors in Bulgaria already offers discount programmes for preliminary booking, Draganov said. Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (BHRA), Bulgarian Association of Tourist Agencies, Bulgarian National Tourism Board and other tourism organisations are expected to establish similar programmes.
Immediately after campaign was announced in November, Blagoi Ragin, head of BHRA, said that he would suggest BHRA members adopted a 10 per cent discount for Bulgarians. Nearly two months and a half later, Ragin told The Sofia Echo that not all of the association members had approved the suggestion. Instead some of them offered culinary specialties, spa procedures and other services “to make Bulgarians feel welcome”. There was even a suggestion that Bulgaria should adopt the Serbian model, with the Finance Ministry paying a bonus to those who decide to stay in the country for their holidays. “Now we have to see whether this suggestion is in breach of European Union regulations,” Ragin said.
