Bulgaria’s tourism industry expects good summer season

Tourism industry experts expect a good summer season, despite the Covid-19 pandemic of the last two years and the current military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Prices of all-inclusive packages have slightly increased, but attractive offers can be counted on throughout the summer season. Still, there are difficulties for hoteliers and tour operators.

The expectations of the industry in the first days of the summer are to reach the levels of 2019. Many of the hotels on the Northern Black Sea coast are working and welcoming tourists, and the top-category beachfront hotels already have periods in July and August when they will be 100 percent full. Because of the military conflict this year, hoteliers along the sea will make up for losses from the Russian market with tourists from Western Europe.

"So far they are mainly tourists from Germany - young men and groups of men from various interest clubs. Polish tourists are also arriving. We already have the first French tourists travelling on the newly opened Varna – Lille flights, which will operate until the beginning of October. The English tourists are back, especially on the South Black Sea coast," said prof. Stoyan Marinov from Varna Tourist Chamber.

Currently, the price of one night in a 4-star all-inclusive hotel in the Golden Sands resort is 50 euros per person. The increase compared to last year is less than 10 percent.

"There is an increase in the reception prices for individual tourists. There the increases are more significant, reaching up to 15 percent and this will inevitably affect the packages. But on the other hand, if there are vacancies, last-minute reductions start, so these reductions will compensate for some of the increases and there will be periods when the Bulgarian domestic market will also be able to take advantage of very favourable offers," added Prof. Stoyan Marinov.

This hotel near Varna is reporting a drop in bookings. Occupancy here is between 40 and 60 percent on a base of 500 beds. The Covid-19 pandemic of the past two years has also changed the habits of tourists. They are making less use of early bookings because of the uncertainty.

“We are now seeing 'last minute' bookings, that is, last minute and without tour operators, directly on electronic platforms. We can now tell in a week's time what the situation will be. For two or three weeks ahead, we can only guess. People are booking at the last minute for a number of reasons, one of which is the war," added Atanas Karageorgiev, a hotelier.

Because of the high prices in the energy sector, most hoteliers say they will operate at a loss.

"The price of energy carriers has been raised many times and in our case it is 60 percent of the cost of the tourist product. There is no way to compensate. We can't raise the price by 160 per cent. If a was 60 BGN per night, we have to make it 95-100. And I don't rely on the government or anyone, because I am aware that we will carry our cross," said Atanas Karageorgiev.

The first tourists on the Northern Black Sea coast are already here and claim that they had no option to cancel their holidays because of the military conflict.

Those hotels that had accommodated Ukrainian refugees hired their staff back in March. So they provided longer employment for their staff and are now welcoming tourists. In the remaining hotels there is shortage of staff, but there is also a solution.

"We have many quality and well-trained workers from neighbouring Turkey. These are managers who have worked in Turkish hotels, they come with their whole teams. They come with chefs, shop floor managers and waiters, which means that they are offered good pay here and the conditions are right for them," said Prof. Stoyan Marinov.

As the traditional market for seasonal workers from Ukraine and Belarus has closed, low-skilled staff from more distant countries such as Kyrgyzstan are now being sought.