“We use the water as medicine,” says Doctor Svetya Tuzharov from the rehabilitation hospital in the town, where spa and wellness hotels have mushroomed in recent years.

Hisar, founded by the Romans and once surrounded by high walls to protect the healing springs, is among dozens of resort towns in the Balkan country trying to revive their traditions in balneotherapy and attract well off tourists.

From the Black Sea resorts of Albena and Pomorie in the east to Velingrad and Sandanski in the southwest, new luxurious hotels have already gained a reputation among Bulgarians and foreigners alike for the high quality of their services.

Tourism, which accounts for about eight percent of GDP, remains one of the few sources of foreign revenues for the poorest European Union nation, whose economy shrank five percent last year and is expected to stagnate this year.

Revenues from international tourism were roughly unaffected last year at 2.6 billion euros ($3.46 billion).

Officials registered an annual 7.8 percent increase in visitors to ski resorts in the first two months of this year. Early bookings for the summer season were on the rise, too, with more visitors expected from Germany, Russia and Israel.

Sunny weather, good prices

Before the fall of communism in 1989, people from Scandinavia, the former Soviet bloc and the Middle East were regular guests in Bulgaria’s spas which specialized in treating medical conditions varying from gout to sterility.

But in the past decade, Bulgaria marketed itself almost entirely as a cheap destination for summer and winter holidays, turning its back on its varied natural resources.

Still, the negative consequences of rampant construction in popular ski and Black Sea resorts have forced the Balkan country to find new ways to attract tourists by bringing its spa resorts and historical heritage into the limelight.

Spa tourism has attracted some $5.4 billion in investment in the past five years, according to data by the Bulgarian Union for Balneology and Spa Tourism. Companies from Israel, Russia, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman have already invested or shown interest.

Finns Hejari-Hashemi and Jukka Yrjola, who stayed in a five-star hotel in Velingrad — a charming mountain town that boasts 80 mineral springs — said they were particularly attracted by the warm climate and affordable prices.

“We are both at the age where we enjoy these kinds of spa services,” Hejari-Hashemi, 54, quipped. “This is my first time here but not the last for sure.”

With Europe’s aging population on the rise and the availability of spa services all the year round, government and industry officials hope spa tourism could be the sector’s driving force with an annual growth of 10 percent.

“What we can offer as competitive advantages are the uniqueness of the mineral waters, the ecologically clean locations, the good price-quality balance,” Deputy Economy Minister Ivo Marinov said. “The potential is huge.”

Advertising, good roads needed

The industry is now advertising itself at fairs in Germany, the Balkans, Israel and Russia.

But to lure tourists away from the Czech Republic and Hungary, Bulgaria’s biggest spa competitors in Eastern Europe, the government must start spending more on marketing and revamping Soviet-era potholed roads, railway and bus transport.

Sigrun Lang, president of the European Spas Association, says Bulgaria’s rich natural resources, long-term traditions in balneotherapy and well-qualified specialists in the sector may come to nothing if the country does not market itself.

“It is a country of many opportunities,” Lang told Reuters. “Marketing is most important because if nobody knows that you have great locations, people cannot come.”

Visitors from the West are amazed to discover that Bulgaria has 220 km (137 miles) of Black Sea beaches, and its mountains boast 130 peaks over 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) with excellent skiing and hiking as well as more than 600 mineral springs.

Mention Bulgaria and many in the West will list associations with corruption, but few know it is one of the oldest countries in Europe teeming with Thracian tombs, golden treasures and valleys of roses.

The new center-right government, elected last July, remains oblivious and has allocated a meager 2 million euros for tourism advertising this year. This compared with 12 million euros earmarked by debt-stricken, neighboring Greece — one of the world’s most visited destinations.

Sanus per aquam

The industry has managed to change the common misconception at home that spa resorts are beneficial only to the elderly who complain from pain in the bones. Bulgarians account for some 80 percent of the visitors in the high-end wellness hotels.

People in their 30s and 40s who once went to “to the baths” with their grandparents or on organized school trips are now coming back to take advantage of the remedies and keep fit.

“Friends recommended it. We haven’t been here since we were kids,” said dentist Ivanka Ivanova, 33, speaking near the pool of her Velingrad hotel. “We like it. The landscape is great.”

The big share of Bulgarian tourists seems paradoxical for a country where the average monthly salary is about 250 euros and the economic crisis is at its peak. Hotel managers say their clients are mainly people of means, whose numbers rose earlier this decade during six or seven years of booming growth.

The spa industry union says tourism’s share of GDP could double in the next three years if Bulgaria established itself at the European market as a full year destination betting on spa and cultural tourism which can be easily combined together.

“With what it has, Bulgaria can turn into a mecca for balneology,” said Rumen Draganov, head of the Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism. “But it needs a strategy.”

Source: Reuters/etn

After Batak’s road infrastructure is improved, tourist routes to several sites on the town’s territory will be created.

The project, worth 200,000 euro, is being realized through a regional development program.

The town of Batak holds a special meaning for Bulgarians, with nationalists claiming that its importance to Bulgarian history was similar to that of Kosovo to Serbia’s history. During the Bulgarian uprising against Ottoman rule in April 1876, more than 6,000 people were killed in the town. The massacre remains a symbol of Bulgarians’ suffering under Turkish rule.

In 2007, Batak was pushed to the forefront of a controversy after a report on the town’s collective memory by two researchers – a Bulgarian and a German – asserted that historical accounts of the events were inspired by the biased and romantic interpretations of an American journalist and a Polish painter. The report, although it did not deny that atrocities took place in Batak, was met by a societal uproar, scandalized at the perceived attempts to distort Bulgarian history.

Following the upheaval, the church of Batak, where many people died in 1876, became one of the most-visited tourist spots in the country.

It is unclear whether the camp – named Teheran – will have the same success. As BalkanTravellers.com wrote, the site was counted as one of Bulgaria’s top 100 must-see tourist attractions during communism. As values changed, following the regime’s fall, so did perceptions of what important tourist attractions were. Bulgarian partisans, revered during communism for their pro-Soviet guerrilla struggle against Nazi Germany in the first half of the 1940s, fell out of grace. Their hiding spots were no longer sites visited en masse by school children and tourists.

As Bulgaria slowly starts taking steps towards remembering its communist past, instead of trying to erase it completely and pretend it never happened, sites such as the Teheran camp are bound to resurface. This time around, their role will remain as reminders of a grim but nevertheless historical and factual past, rather than as monuments of a glorified oppressive regime.

Krushkova pointed out that the forecast by the end of the year is 20 percent increase over last year's figure, and that the increase of income from tourism for the eight months is nearly 13 percent.

EU citizens, who visited Bulgaria, increased about 16 percent, with the number of tourists from Romania, Greece and Germany, Great Britain, Russia, Macedonia and Serbia seeing the most increase.

Bulgarian State Tourist Agency receives an annual budget of six million leva (US$3.8 million), which is not nearly enough to advertise what the country has to offer on the international market. At the news conference, professionals requested the budget for 2009 to be increased to 20 million leva (US$12.9).

Vetko Arabadjiev from the Union of Investors in tourism said that the industry should focus on winning back – through special offers – the thousands of Bulgarian tourists who prefer to holiday in Turkey and Greece. He believes that the financial crisis would not affect the type of tourists that come to Bulgaria – usually families or individuals who would only have funds for one holiday a year.

Arabadjiev suggested that Bulgaria should be promoted more aggressively abroad as a cheap destination with a good quality of service. Also, that Bulgaria needs to secure preferential airplane tickets on charters servicing Varna and Bourgas airports. Arabadjiev wished that the government would create favorable conditions for the development of infrastructural projects.

Petya Slavova from the Union of Bulgarian Tourism Industry (UBTI) said that UBTI intends to meet archaeologists, historians, musicians and diplomats to probe their personal experience of how best to enhance Bulgaria’s image abroad. In the row of planned meetings, Slavova also mentioned future talks with Italian, Turkish or Croatian ministers who could provide lessons on how to develop a successful tourist industry.

The total number of foreign visits in the firs six months of the year has reached 3,193,235 with 1,803,415 of them coming on vacation.

The visits of Macedonians have gone up by nearly 70% while does those from Malta by over 63%.

Visits from Russia have increased by 30%, those from Germany – by 11% and from Great Britain – by 5%.

Visitors from Luxembourg show the least interest in travel in Bulgaria.

Among visitors from countries that are not members of the EU, Russians are the ones coming to Bulgaria on vacation the most, followed by Serbians and Macedonians.

Israelis are also among those visiting Bulgaria often.

The body’s members, whose number was increased by six, insisted that 1,5 percent more from tourism incomes should be reinvested in the sector.

“The fact that Bulgaria has no tourism representations abroad is a shame,” the board’s Executive Director Poli Karastoyanova said.

According to the body’s management, a total of BGN 250 M from the next year’s state budget could be allocated to attractions’ development and advertising.

“It would be intolerable if the ticket seller at Bulgaria’s ancient city Perperikon knows everything about Machu Picchu and the ticket seller at Machu Picchu has not even heard about Perperikon,” Rumen Draganov explained.

The newly elected head of the board announced the organization will demand to be mentioned in the Tourism law as a partner of the state when it comes to solving important problems in the sphere.

The board’s members insisted also that some amendments in the current tourism strategy should be made so that it provides precise statistic data about the number of Bulgarians, who choose to spend their holidays in their own country.

Municipalities, hotel owners and local organizations should join their efforts in advertising and exploring the resources in the separate regions, the National Board concluded.

novinite.com

According to tourism specialist Diana Bozhkova, this would be the best way to show foreigners what Bulgaria has to offer in terms of tourism. She said that tourism needed to be divided regionally because of the wide range of local tourism products. Because each region has its own specific appearance and landmarks, the regional division is a very good approach to presenting the country, Bozhkova said.

SAT chairperson Anelia Kroushkova suggested regional division as a way to present Bulgaria at international tourism fairs, as a number of other countries do. Bulgaria could be divided into the regions that are already well known those that have the potential to develop as tourism destinations, Focus news agency reported on June 19.

On June 14, new hotel requirements came into effect in Bulgaria, as reported by Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily. They apply to all hotels that are in a process of being classified or applying for classification. Stricter requirements will be applied to hotel staff especially in luxurious tourist sites. Chambermaids, doormen and bus boys in four star hotels must have high school education and know at least one foreign language. Administrators must have a specialized high school education in tourism.

The new requirements introduce new hotel categories, including spa hotel, business hotel and hotel residence. New room classifications were also set, which included single room, double room, or apartment in a hotel or a studio. If a hotel fails to meet the requirements for its category, SAT could decide to decrease its star rating.

On June 19, Bulgarian-language Pari daily reported that Bulgaria's Albena AD had achieved a large increase in assets over the past seven-10 years through buying land and hotels. "Now the time has probably come for us to sell some of the assets," Albena's executive director Krassimir Stanev said. The tourism company is in negotiations over the sale of its subsidiary, Byalata Laguna. A foreign investor, who has already carried out projects in north-eastern Bulgaria, has shown interest. A decision will be made within two months.

Albena will build several new hotel complexes with 1000 to 1500 rooms. Currently Albena offers 7100 hotel rooms with more than 15 000 beds. The third section of the four-star Flamingo hotel will be completed in the autumn of 2008.

Three months later she slid down two floors on a drainpipe, ran several kilometers (miles) through a forest and finally found a taxi that took her to a police station and safety.
“The girl who invited me won her freedom by bringing in two other girls,” said Anca, a quiet 20-year-old from a Romanian village. She asked for her real name to be withheld to protect her from her captors.

As they prepare to join the European Union, Romania and Bulgaria are struggling to contain human trafficking and smuggling, particularly in drugs, which is endemic in the Black Sea region that will soon become the EU’s eastern border.

Every year, thousands of women such as Anca, some as young as 13, are kidnapped or lured by promises of well paying jobs or marriage and sold to gangs who lock them up in night clubs and brothels or force them to work on the streets.

Observers say even more women could be at risk after the two countries join the EU in January and traffickers seek to increase business by taking advantage of easier access to western Europe, where most of the victims end up.

“There is a lot of exploitation in Romania and I am sure the numbers will get bigger,” said Gina-Maria Stoian, Anca’s case manager and the director of The Adpare Foundation, a Romanian organization that helps victims of human trafficking.
“Already there is sex tourism around the Black Sea.”

CRIMINAL ROUTES
Romania and its southern neighbor Bulgaria are among 11 countries listed by the United Nations as top sources of human trafficking, based on reported numbers of victims.
Other countries in the region, the poorest in Europe, are also hotbeds for organized crime and illegal trade such as Moldova and Ukraine.
Poverty, disillusionment with the region’s slow reforms after the collapse of communism, and a fraying fabric of society following decades of forced repatriation of many communities help gangs flourish and find easy victims.

“There is poverty, dysfunctional families, mentality. The girls have no roots, no self-esteem,” said Iana Matei, who runs Reaching Out, a Romanian charity that helps trafficking victims.
“The traffickers now look for 13 to 14 year olds. They are easier to control. They are trained and brain-washed here. They see they can get little help from police, the system. And they think they can make money and become independent,” she said.

Geography is also a problem. Bulgaria and Romania are part of the “Balkan route” for transporting heroin from Afghanistan – which produces the vast majority of the world supply of poppies – to Western Europe. Eighty per cent of Afghani heroin reaches Western users through this route.
“Romania will be the final border, the final frontier of the EU,” said Cristian Duta from Bucharest’s SECI Centre, which supports trans-border crime fighting in southeastern Europe. “It will be the first step for anyone who wants to get into the EU.”

FIGHTING ABUSE
Some observers worry that Romania and Bulgaria’s membership of the EU could aid the spillover of illicit trade that plagues the Black Sea region into the west.
Bucharest and Sofia governments say they are doing all they can to combat trafficking and abuse. Romania has won praise from Brussels for reforming border controls, combating endemic corruption and improving police co-operation.
But the EU has been more cautious on Bulgaria, rapping Sofia for not doing enough to fight rampant organized crime.

“Our borders are a 100 per cent secure,” said Dumitru Licsandru, who runs Bucharest’s state agency against human trafficking.
The agency’s data shows about 1,400 Romanian victims of trafficking, including sexual exploitation and forced labor, were identified in the first nine months of this year, while some 200 perpetrators were arrested.

Sofia’s interior ministry’s organized crime unit said 4,000-5,000 Bulgarian women are trafficked a year.
“We cannot deny the fact the problem of trafficking exists,” said interior ministry spokeswoman Katya Ilieva, adding that the numbers had dropped compared to previous years.
Observers say official figures on the numbers of people trafficked show only the tip of the iceberg.
Aid workers say police work is not enough. Governments need to train judges and prosecutors, better protect victims and fight corruption which still allows traffickers to take women through borders or keep underage girls on the streets.

They also need to change the mentality in the traditional Balkan societies which often blame victims for their plight.
“My girls all knew about trafficking. But they thought it only happened to whores,” said Matei, whose charity assists girls caught up in prostitution rings.

Serbia and Bulgaria have launched a new railway initiative on their border. Ministers from the two countries opened a new frontier train station that will be operated jointly by staff and Customs officials from both countries.

The station is located at Dimitrovgrad on an important international rail route known as Corridor Ten. The shared operation of the station is set to make border formalities and customs checks more efficient and cut down on delays. The development has been financed in part by loans from the European Investment Bank, in recognition of the importance of the route.

The pan-European Corridor Ten runs from Salzburg to Thessaloniki through Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade, Nis, Skopje and Veles and is significant for both freight and passenger train traffic.

Serbia and Bulgaria signed a series of agreements on border control and procedures for railway operations in 2005. The frontier station has since been rebuilt and modernized and was reopened Monday.

"These Protocols determine that both police and custom service of our country and Bulgaria jointly manage the customs examination in international passenger trains, not only during the train halt, as currently, but during the operation between Dimitrovgrad and Dragoman as well," said Milanko Sarancic, Director General of Serbian Railways. "Consequently, the layover time of international passenger trains at the border will be reduced from 100 to 50 minutes."

The development signals a move to upgrade Serbia's rail services to modern European standards, and its key geographical position in south-east Europe for international train travel. Serbia, like its neighbour Bulgaria, has ambitions to join the European Union and improving cross-border travel and transport is vital to its prospects for integration.

"We invested more than five million Euros in the construction of this new joint border railway station in Dimitrovgrad. We received great support and assistance from the European Investment Bank," said Velimir Ilic, Serbia's Minister of Capital Investment.

Further investment is on the way for modernising train tracks in Serbia. The European Investment Bank has announced a loan of 80 million Euros for improvements on the Corridor Ten route, near Serbia's second city, Nis.

The project will increase transport safety and capacity by removing major bottlenecks in the railway system in Serbia, a significant transit country in the Balkan Peninsula. Improved railways links will help the integration of Serbia with the European Union and increase the competitiveness of the country's economy as a result of improved transport facilities for the development of trade, industry and tourism.

Serbia has almost 4,000 km of railway but it is not operating efficiently as most of it is single track. Only 275 km is double track.

In a separate development, Serbian Railways announced the start up of a new direct passenger service between the Serbian capital Belgrade and Venice in Italy, after a break of several years. Modern carriages with luxury sleeping berths are carried on the daily 15.45 departure from Belgrade, the Nickola Tessla, and are then attached to a connecting train in Zagreb which is timetabled to arrive in Venice Santa Lucia station at 07.15 the following morning.

One of the reasons for that influx might be the immense popularity of Bulgaria's Kaloyan Mahlyanov, known as Kotooshu in Japan. Mahlyanov is one of the top sumo wrestling stars in Japan, where he is a beloved star of the sport. "Japanese tourists want to see the motherland of Kotooshu and Veliko Turnovo has become their top destination in Bulgaria," Rashev said. "Next in line were British and US tourists who usually visit Veliko Turnovo as part of their European tours."

In addition, Rashev forecasted a 30 percent increase in the number of tourists visiting the city by the end of the year. In the first nine months of 2006, the number of tourists had increased with 20 percent compared to the same period in 2005, he said. Veliko Turnovo has developed into one of the leading destinations for foreign tourists for a few simple reasons. First, the city is one of the medieval centers of Bulgaria, featuring the magnificent and outstanding Tsarevets fortress complex.
Veliko Turnovo was the capital of the second Bulgarian state and Tsarevets fortress was the most important citadel in Bulgaria, often compared with Rome and Constantinople in magnificence. In 1393, the stronghold was besieged by Ottoman forces for three months before finally being conquered and burnt down, marking the fall of the Bulgarian state. This historic heritage today attracts attention from both Bulgarian and foreign tourists. The second reason is the climate. The mild weather, which continues throughout the whole year, has made Veliko Turnovo and the areas around it a suitable place for relaxation. "The city enjoys a long tourist season with hotels empty only for a month throughout the whole year," Rashev said.
Many tourists come for culture, sport, spa and wellness tourism. Proof of the development of culture tourism in Veliko Turnovo is the 36th World Congress of the Council for Organising of International Folk Festivals. The Congress is held in the city between October 27 and November 4. This event alone has brought more than 500 international guests to the city. As for spa tourism, Veliko Turnovo offers a lot of modern facilities which, together with the climate and beautiful surroundings, attract thousands of tourists every year, according to Stanimir Stankov, chairman of NSAWT.
"Bulgaria has all it takes to become the top spa destination in South East Europe," Stankov said. "There is a great potential in Bulgaria in attracting fans of spa and wellness tourism from Japan, the US, Middle East and Europe," Stankov said. For example, the Best Western Veliko Turnovo Premier hotel has welcomed more than 11 000 tourists over the past year. About 7000 were Bulgarians. Most of the foreign guests came from Israel, France, Italy, the UK, Japan and the US.
A boomer for the hotel were Japanese tourists. The projections for the next year are that their number will double. It seems that spa tourism might be the future for Veliko Turnovo and Bulgaria. Spa tourism could generate 1.5 billion euro worth of revenues annually, according to independent analysts. At present, close to 500 mineral water springs in Bulgaria are suitable for health and beauty procedures. However only 70 to 80 of them are used, which shows the big potential of spa and wellness activities in the country.

The development of the tourism sector is connected to infrastructure, transport, advertising, said Bulgarian Tourist Chamber chairperson Tsvetan Tonchev.

According to Poli Karastoyanova, head of the National Tourism Board, a tourism ministry is necessary to successfully use European Union funds that are expected to flow into Bulgaria after the country joins the union.
The tourism sector generates about 15 per cent of Bulgaria's gross domestic product, Tsvetanov said.
Meanwhile, the members of the National Tourism Board are considering the introduction of a special system to provide the services of some of Bulgaria's resorts under preferential terms for Bulgarian tourists.
The announcement was made by Karastoyanova.
The draft project aims at bringing back Bulgarian tourists to local resorts. It envisages several types of subscription cards giving discounts on prices on the model existing in all other countries, Karastoyanova said.

Bulgaria's other major tourist organization, the Union of Bulgarian Tourist Industry, will also consider the possibilities of launching a special subscription card for Bulgarian tourists. The union will discuss the idea at the end of September 2006, after which it will disclose further details, the union's chief secretary, Ivo Marinov, said. The scheme should not constitute a breach of the Discrimination Act, Marinov said.
Bulgarian summer resorts Dyuni, Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach), St Constantine and Elena and some of the sites in Bansko and Pamporovo winter resorts are interested in joining the project.
The January-July 2006 revenue from foreign tourists in Bulgaria marked a 4.62 percent increase year-on-year, the State Agency for Tourism said on September 14.
According to preliminary data, revenue from international tourism (transport excluded) for the first seven months of 2006 amounts to 1.16 billion euro, which is 4.62 percent more than in the same period of 2005.

Costs of Bulgarian citizens for traveling abroad in January-July 2006 amounted to 631.2 million euro, or 10.45 percent more year-on-year.
More than 2.8 million foreign tourists visited Bulgaria from January to July 2006, up 4.82 percent year-on-year.
The bulk of foreign holidaymakers came from Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Germany and the UK.
The number of Greek tourists totaled 333 000 from January to July 2006, down 10.75 percent. The number of German and British tourists stood at 285 000 (down 5.25 percent) and 246 000 (up 12.11 percent) respectively.

Romanian tourist arrivals registered the biggest rise in the first seven months of the year with 96.06 percent. The number of Russian tourists rose 29.06 percent on the year through July to 132 000.
A total of 2.3 million Bulgarians traveled abroad in the first seven months of 2006, down by more than four percent year-on-year. Bulgarians traveled mostly to Turkey, Serbia, Greece, Macedonia, Germany, Romania and Italy.