[size=55:1uc1dt7u]BNR


Tourist season extended until end of October, prices go down

The short tourist season in Bulgaria which usually lasts no more than three months is one of the reasons for hoteliers to complain every year from small profits and lack of enough customers. The truth is that Bulgaria’s coastal resorts become crowded with tourists in mid-July and remain so until the end of August when the tourist flow suddenly decreases and hotels become deserted. On the other hand, the climatic conditions on Bulgaria’s geographical location make it possible for the tourist season to continue from April to October. According to hoteliers, the problem is hidden in tour agencies which organize charter flights to the Bulgarian coastal resorts in the height of the summer only, omitting the months of April and May. On the other hand, tour operators say that in spring coastal resorts are unprepared to receive guests because every year hotel owners delay construction and repair works, causing real chaos in the resorts. Tour operators also claim that the autumn holiday packages are not competitive in terms of prices compared to those offered in neighbouring countries such as Turkey and Greece. Yet Bulgarian resorts also offer alluring prices. They are expected to drop further in September and October and be some 50 per cent lower than prices in the peak of the season.

In September and October many elderly people from Russia and EU countries will spend their holiday in Bulgarian resorts.

This year Russian tourists have been most numerous in Bulgarian coastal resorts, with some of them owning their own properties there, and also Romanian tourists who love Bulgaria’s north. The initial fears after the Burgas bomb attack of a severe reduction in the tourist flow proved unfounded. Blagoy Ragin, chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Hotel and Restaurant Owners, tells RB more: “Regarding the number of tourists, the situation will remain as we expected it, i.e. 6 to 8 per cent growth this year. For this purpose, we will try to extend the tourist season by linking it to cultural tourism and spa holiday packages. We rely mostly on older tourists, especially retired people from the UK, Germany and Russia who are willing to combine their seaside holiday with trips inside the country. Some of them arrive here using funds from different EU programs, so it costs really cheap for them to travel to Bulgaria.”

Experts expect that prices will drop from 30 to 50 per cent from the start of September. Hoteliers are trying to draw tourists also by offering additional extras such as spa treatment, trips to nearby places of interest, etc. All inclusive packages have been the most popular type of holiday this year. In some offers, the prices for accommodation and meals for a day can be as low as 15 to 25 euro per day. We can only hope for a really long and warm Indian summer this year.