The jewel of the Balkans
Bulgaria is once again expecting a positive year for its tourism industry despite the economic slowdown that is affecting most economies. Bulgaria's State Tourism Agency, Sat, together with tourism operators have joined forces to respond to the...
Bulgaria is once again expecting a positive year for its tourism industry despite the economic slowdown that is affecting most economies.
Bulgaria's State Tourism Agency, Sat, together with tourism operators have joined forces to respond to the anticipated decrease in tourism affecting all destinations. A Sat report published in January 2009 shows that there was a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of visitors over 2007. Tourism generated €1.23 billion in revenues between January and November 2008, an increase of 11.5 per cent over 2007.
Under the Operational Programme Regional Development 2007 - 2013, six projects have been approved, which will fund Sat's various marketing campaigns to attract tourists from Germany, Russia and the UK including the creation of a €1.23 billion multi-media catalogue of the country's most attractive tourist sites. Hotels and holiday apartments are expanding in anticipation of a projected 20 million visitors per year by 2017, as predicted by The World Travel and Tourism Council, making Bulgaria one of the world's greatest emerging tourist markets.
Representing 14 per cent of Bulgaria's GDP - travel and tourism play an important part in the country's economy. The EU is Bulgaria's main source of tourism revenue with around 75 per cent of visitors coming from Europe. Tourism has been relatively successful in recent years with substantial investment poured into accommodation and amenities.
Bulgaria has a major geographic advantage due to its location, which allows it to host tourists in both summer and winter. The ski resorts of Bansko and Borovets are considered to be among the best in Europe apart from the Swiss and Italian ski resorts, but much cheaper. In fact the ski resort of Bansko, which is three kilometres away from an 18-hole golf course, came out as the cheapest ski resort in a recent worldwide survey.
Bansko is known as an Alpine skiing, hiking and climbing centre surrounded by the Pirin Mountains and just 15 kilometres away is the Spa Centre at Banya, famous for its over 70 mineral hot-springs whose healing effects have been known since antiquity.
Bulgaria is exceptionally well positioned to benefit from reduced tourist numbers and spending, since it offers all the attractions of a major destination at a fraction of the cost. The World Tourism Organisation describes Bulgaria as one of the most appealing "new faces" in the tourism industry today. Peak time is between April and October for the coastal areas, while the ski resorts like Bansko, peak between December and March.
In the summer period, the beaches in the Black Sea are a hive of activity reminiscent of the resorts found in the Mediterranean. But Bulgaria, once the centre of an empire that ruled the Balkans, has much more to offer tourists than skiing and sea resorts. Apart from its skiing and Black Sea attractions, Bulgaria is well known for its rich folklore, traditional music, cuisine and spectacular countryside, mountains, lakes, parks not to mention its 1600 thermal mineral springs and abundance of historical and cultural heritage.
Many ancient civilizations from the Thracian, Greeks, Romans and Bulgars have left monumental records including nine Unesco world heritage sites.
Since becoming a member of the EU in January 2007, Bulgaria has made and continues to make steady progress in all areas in transforming itself from a Soviet dependency, which ended in 1989, into a democratic Republic at the heart of the Balkan region surrounded by Greece, Turkey and Romania.
Bulgaria's State Tourism Agency, Sat, together with tourism operators have joined forces to respond to the anticipated decrease in tourism affecting all destinations. A Sat report published in January 2009 shows that there was a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of visitors over 2007. Tourism generated €1.23 billion in revenues between January and November 2008, an increase of 11.5 per cent over 2007.
Under the Operational Programme Regional Development 2007 - 2013, six projects have been approved, which will fund Sat's various marketing campaigns to attract tourists from Germany, Russia and the UK including the creation of a €1.23 billion multi-media catalogue of the country's most attractive tourist sites. Hotels and holiday apartments are expanding in anticipation of a projected 20 million visitors per year by 2017, as predicted by The World Travel and Tourism Council, making Bulgaria one of the world's greatest emerging tourist markets.
Representing 14 per cent of Bulgaria's GDP - travel and tourism play an important part in the country's economy. The EU is Bulgaria's main source of tourism revenue with around 75 per cent of visitors coming from Europe. Tourism has been relatively successful in recent years with substantial investment poured into accommodation and amenities.
Bulgaria has a major geographic advantage due to its location, which allows it to host tourists in both summer and winter. The ski resorts of Bansko and Borovets are considered to be among the best in Europe apart from the Swiss and Italian ski resorts, but much cheaper. In fact the ski resort of Bansko, which is three kilometres away from an 18-hole golf course, came out as the cheapest ski resort in a recent worldwide survey.
Bansko is known as an Alpine skiing, hiking and climbing centre surrounded by the Pirin Mountains and just 15 kilometres away is the Spa Centre at Banya, famous for its over 70 mineral hot-springs whose healing effects have been known since antiquity.
Bulgaria is exceptionally well positioned to benefit from reduced tourist numbers and spending, since it offers all the attractions of a major destination at a fraction of the cost. The World Tourism Organisation describes Bulgaria as one of the most appealing "new faces" in the tourism industry today. Peak time is between April and October for the coastal areas, while the ski resorts like Bansko, peak between December and March.
In the summer period, the beaches in the Black Sea are a hive of activity reminiscent of the resorts found in the Mediterranean. But Bulgaria, once the centre of an empire that ruled the Balkans, has much more to offer tourists than skiing and sea resorts. Apart from its skiing and Black Sea attractions, Bulgaria is well known for its rich folklore, traditional music, cuisine and spectacular countryside, mountains, lakes, parks not to mention its 1600 thermal mineral springs and abundance of historical and cultural heritage.
Many ancient civilizations from the Thracian, Greeks, Romans and Bulgars have left monumental records including nine Unesco world heritage sites.
Since becoming a member of the EU in January 2007, Bulgaria has made and continues to make steady progress in all areas in transforming itself from a Soviet dependency, which ended in 1989, into a democratic Republic at the heart of the Balkan region surrounded by Greece, Turkey and Romania.