Bulgarian Black Sea resorts cut prices after peak season passes
With the end of August and the passing of the peak summer season, Bulgaria’s Black Sea coastal resort hotels have reduced prices by about 20 per cent, according to local media reports.
On August 28, public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said that prices at resorts were down by 10 to 20 per cent and by the end of September could be half-price. Separate Bulgarian-language media reports said that as of the end of the third week of August, prices at seaside holiday resorts had been lowered by 20 to 30 per cent.
The Varna Tourism Chamber expected that the prices reductions would have their desired effect, bringing a fresh wave of tourists to the seaside city.
According to BNT, prices for a double room in a hotel in Golden Sands would drop from a current 90 leva (about 45 euro) to 70 leva.
The report quoted hotel manager Elena Toneva as saying that interest among tourists at this time of year was “very strong” because the weather was still nice and warm, while prices were lower.
The deputy head of the Varna Tourism Chamber, Stoyan Marinov, said that the September and October season attracted older people who did not want to rub shoulders with the rowdy younger crowd who populated resorts during July and August.
Roumen Draganov, of the Institute for Analysis of Tourism, said that August 15 saw the start of the interim summer tourist season, with some reductions in prices, and from September, low season started. Decreases in prices were affected by various factors, including strong competition among hotels because of large supplies of accommodation, a result of over-building in Bulgaria’s seaside resorts.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
