Consumer Watchdog Opens Offices at Beach Resorts

The Bulgarian Commission for Consumer Protection (KZP) is opening seven new offices at summer resorts, where tourists will be able to file complaints. The offices are expected to shorten the time for KZP to respond to complaints since inspectors will be able to issue sanctions on the spot.

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The offices will be located at the largest Bulgarian summer resorts of: Sunny Beach, Golden Sands, Albena, Sozopol, Primorsko, and the Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas and will be available to holidaymakers for emergencies or to file claims about cuatomer service violations at hotels, food and entertainment establishments.

This will give KZP an opportunity to monitor more closely services and goods offered at beach resorts while the presence of inspectors will make hotel and restaurant owners and merchants more likely to focus on improving service for tourists.

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Bulgaria Set for Massive Tourism Growth in 2011

Adding to the growing portfolio of positive forecsats for tourism in 2011, the Black Sea coast is now predicted to have one of its most successful seasons ever with many UK travel companies highlighting Bulgaria as their biggest growth area in recent years.

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Living in Bulgaria - Today's Top Stories

While European travellers have become increasingly wary of traditional Mediterranean summer beach holiday destinations, Bulgaria has seen massive growth in tourist numbers since the global slump in 2008 - 2009. International statistics site Euromonitor.com state that visitors to Bulgaria are already up by some 25% in 2011 from 2010, despite the economic climate where the traditional holiday destinations like Spain are reporting negative growth in their tourist industry. The beach destinations of Sunny Beach, Sozopol, Nessebar and Golden Sands are attracting visitors from all over Europe while Bourgas and Varna are attracting increasing numbers of city break travellers.

For those seeking a summer holiday that is not overly expensive, Bulgaria hits the mark every time. A survey recently carried out by numbeo.com showed that Sofia was nearly 40% less expensive on restaurant bills than Seville in Spain and nearly 10% less on grocery prices. Similarly, this year's survey from Post Office Money Travel rates Bulgaria as the 2nd bast value-for-money tourist destination in Europe. So in an increasingly price sensitive market, Bulgaria is more than holding its own in terms of value and competitiveness for accommodation, holiday expenses, food, drink and attraction costs.

Bulgaria will benefit in 2011 from a larger share of travel companies budgets, as they once again include Bulgaria within their core beach holiday destinations. Matt Hall, Head of Product for LowcostHolidays.com has commented that, "Bulgaria holiday bookings are up 100% year on year and with an active marketing campaign in place, expected bookings for summer 2011 holidays to Bulgaria are forecast to grow by a further 200%".

With low cost airlines such as Wizzair and Ryanair increasing their flight routes, access to Bulgaria's resort destinations is now more affordable and more accessible than ever before and holidays to Bulgaria are once again becoming the best value for money option for a summer beach holiday.

Related Articles:
Bulgaria's Summer Bookings up by 30 percent
Bulgaria 2nd best Value Destination for Tourists
Tourist numbers up for start of 2011

Read more on our websites ...
MovetoBG.com - and Twitter @MovetoBG
Bulgaria Gateway - and Twitter @BulgariaGateway
Property Partners BG - and Twitter @PropertyPtnrsBG - or on Facebook

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Bulgarian Key Resort Areas Gain New Status

Bulgaria's main national resorts will be declared 'Settlements with particular status' and will have a new regime of unified urban planning and management.

Deputy Minister for Tourism, Ivo Marinov, said "These settlements will include the beach resorts of Sunny Beach, Albena, Golden Sands and Dunes - and the ski centres of Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo, among others".

Currently, ownership of the local infrastructure and facilities varies from resort to resort. The largest Bulgarian summer resort of Sunny Beach, for instance, is a public association with a 75% Government stake and 25% belonging to minority shareholders. The Albena infrastructure has one owner, while Golden Sands belongs to a consortium of different hotel proprietors. In Borovets the ski facilities are owned by the Borosport company while the infrastructure belongs to the municipality, whereas facilities at Pamporovo are shared between the municipalities of Chepelare and Smolyan. Marinov pointed out that within the new plan all the main resorts will have a common organisation.

The Deputy Minister also stated that that the cabinet is considering the elimination of resort tax for hotels during seasonal periods when they are not in use.

Our aim is to provide a single source of information, advice and practical help for everybody visiting Bulgaria. So, whether you are planning a relaxing holiday break, a travel adventure, a fact-finding trip for your property purchase - or if you are thinking of moving here permanently, we recommend that you visit our websites at:

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It’s that time of year - again …

April is the month when thoughts inevitably start to turn seasonal. The pleasures of the festive season are now a fading memory and the impetus of your Easter celebrations has begun to wane. The weather’s changing but it can still be cold and grey and dismal. The annual routine has taken hold again and another long year stretches ahead … But, Hey! Spring is here, and the promise of your summer fun in the sun is not far behind.

So what’s it going to be for you this year? Where will you be catching your rays?

Well, according to all the forecasts, it seems that most of you will be somewhere on the Black Sea coast - the 380 kilometres of craggy headlands, natural dunes, secluded coves and Blue Flag beaches that link Bulgaria with Romania in the north and Turkey in the south. Travel operators across Europe now boast the Black Sea as one of the best value destinations in their portfolios and holidays to the beach resorts are selling better than ever before - in more countries than ever before. So far this year, the tourist industry has reported an 8% increase in ski holidays; a year-on-year increase of 7% in Culture Tourism; and a flood of early sun-seekers to the resorts at Albena and Golden Sands. As a result, the industry is forecasting a progressive return to the numbers of you that that will be visiting the coast this year.

And not only for your annual get-away. Many of you who already know about Bulgaria - and know about the incredibly low prices now in place following the recent economic turmoil - will be making 2010 the year that you turn your knowledge into decision-making and purchase your holiday home, your retirement base or your investment property here. Many more of you, perhaps visiting for the first time, will be so captivated by your experience and so impressed by the scale and the quality of everything that’s going on, that you will do the same.

How do we know this? Well - because that's just what you're doing right now. About 70% of the hotels in the Golden Sands resort have opened for guests and many of the larger hotels are already fully booked. Tour operators are expecting higher visitor numbers this year, not least because they are running more specific and more targeted offers. And more importantly, this increase in visitors to Bulgaria is being accompanied by an even greater increase in completed property deals. Following the typically flat period of January and February, the volume of deals for March reached a record high since the beginning of the financial crisis, with a growth of 50% compared with the average monthly levels in the last year.

That’s why we think that now is the right time to bring you a selection of current property listings for city homes, apartments, village houses and land plots on the coast and within easy travelling distance inland - all currently available, with more in the pipeline ...

So, we look forward to seeing you in the summer …

For advice, assistance and information about Moving to Bulgaria, we recommend that you visit our website at MovetoBG.com - and for accommodation options, resources and services, we suggest Bulgaria Gateway

Tourists Flood Bulgaria's Golden Sands Resort for Easter

Some 20 000 tourists are spending the Easter holidays in the top Bulgarian Black Sea resort Golden Sands.

The tourists are mostly from Bucharest and have been attracted to the Bulgarian seaside by the competitive all-inclusive package – three nights for EUR 100.

About 70% of the hotels in the Golden Sands resort have opened for the Easter holidays, the BNT reported, and many of the larger hotels are fully booked.

In this early phase of the season,the hotels will be welcoming tourists until April 10th and will then be closed in order to prepare for the summer season which starts on May 1st.

About one million Romanians came to Bulgaria for a vacation in 2009 making up the largest group of foreign tourists. An even greater number of Romanians are expected to visit Bulgaria in 2010 prompting the Bulgarian tour operators to prepare offers targeting them directly.

For advice, assistance and information about Moving to Bulgaria, we recommend that you visit our website at MovetoBG.com - and for accommodation options, resources and services, we suggest Bulgaria Gateway