Most of Bulgaria’s Black Sea, mountain resort hotels will not open this summer – report
Most of the hotels on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast and in the country’s mountain resorts will not open in summer 2020, because they have almost no reservations, either from Bulgarians or foreigners, according to a report by Bulgarian National Television.
Those reservations made before the Covid-19 epidemic have been cancelled, the report said.
BNT quoted tour operators as saying that tourists this summer preferred to book into private apartments and guest houses.
Hotel owners are expecting to make only the most minimal profit in the coming months and will even find it difficult to cover their expenses.
Not only is it unclear how many foreign tourists will come to Bulgaria, but also conforming with health and hygiene regulations is pushing up costs for hotel owners.
Taking this into account, owners of four- and five-star hotels in Bulgaria’s holiday resorts have found that it is better not to open this summer, the report said.
Hotels in Bulgaria’s largest summer resort, Sunny Beach, have not yet opened, according to the report. Hotel owners hope that the season will start in July and August, but they are not expecting UK tourists to return to the resort this year.
However, in spite of the lack to tourists, some restaurants in Sunny Beach have already opened.
The report said that most hotels in Bulgaria’s mountain resort town Bansko remained closed.
Hotel owner Georgi Dumanov told BNT that his hotel’s main clients were groups from Germany, the UK and the Czech Republic. Two-thirds of the groups had cancelled.
The report said that the industry expected that prices would be reduced this year, in spite of the financial difficulties of most hotels and restaurants.
Meanwhile, on June 7 Bulgaria’s Tourism Ministry said in a statement that it would carry out an immediate investigation following the posting on social networks of a till slip showing that a tourist had been charged 64 leva (about 32.72 euro) for two umbrellas and four sunbeds.
If a breach of the recently-amended Health Act – which requires that this summer concession-holders of beaches must provide beach accessories at at least half the prices charged last year – is found, the concession-holder will face a fine of 50 000 leva, rising to 100 000 leva for second and further offences, the Tourism Ministry said.
(Photo: Marcelo Gerpe/freeimages.com)
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