Positive Results for Bulgaria's Winter Tourism

Positive Results for Bulgaria's Winter Tourism

Sofia News Agency, 19 April 2011

Positive Results for Bulgaria's Winter Tourism Sofia News Agency, 19 April 2011 Bulgaria's winter and ski resorts will attract more tourists from the Balkan countries. The round table was organized by the Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, which presented the results from the completed winter tourism season 2010-2011. A total number of 412 641 foreign tourists visited Bulgaria's winter and ski resorts, marking an increase of 6.9%. The total revenue from foreign tourism was EUR 204 M. The Balkan tourists and some of the more traditional countries marked a remarcable increase: Romania – 113 110 tourists, up 9.3%;Macedonia – 80 560, up 30.7%, Serbia – 47 901, up 28.1%; Turkey – 46 029, up 0.8%; Germany – 26 241, up 18.6%; Russia – 32 541, up 11.8%; Ukraine – 15 485, up 16.4%; France – 10 583, up 29.7%; Israel – 8 247, up 25.9%; USA – 6 629, up 13.7. The Bulgarian ski resorts plan to invest heavily in artificial snow equipment in order to be able to extend the duration of the season for the upcomming ski season. Some of the top resorts such as Bansko and Pamporovo have the ambitions to organize majour winter sports competitions – a goal successfully achieved by Bansko which hosted a world ski cup round this winter. According to the business executives and experts who took part in Monday's round table, the economic crisis has affected the numbers of British and Irish tourists coming to Bulgaria, while the visa regimes for Russia and Turkey had a similar effect.