Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Marin Bachvarov
Introduction
Europe including the British Isles. The upgrading
of the motorways in Serbia and Romania and in
the country itself, as well as the building of a
second bridge over the Danube at Vidin and the
EU financed E-8 corridor to link Bulgaria with
Italy via FYR Macedonia and Albania, will
enhance Bulgaria's accessibility. Sofia airport is
currently being enlarged and similar projects will
soon start in the other three international air-
ports: Varna, Bourgas and Plovdiv.
The country has a number of strengths that
favour its tourist development:
Bulgaria emerged onto the international tour-
ism market in the 1960s as a 'sun, sea and
sand' destination and was the most successful
among COMECON countries in attracting for-
eign tourists, particularly for summer holidays
on the Black Sea coast. Throughout the 1970s
and 1980s the Bulgarian international tourism
industry was one of the most competitive in
Central
and
Eastern
Europe
(Koulov
and
Marinov, 1997).
The downfall of the Communist system
after 1989 led to a deep crisis in Bulgarian
tourism and it fell behind developments else-
where, particularly those in Central Europe (Hall,
1995). Along with other destinations on the
European periphery, Bulgaria suffered from an
absence of good and rapid transport links with
the more developed parts of the continent. This
was, and still is, a serious obstacle for the devel-
opment of tourism in the country. On the other
hand, the removal of the Iron Curtain and sub-
sequent integration into European economic and
infrastructure networks has made the country
more easily accessible for tourists from Western
Europe. In the new conditions Bulgaria could
make better use of its location between Europe,
Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Bulgaria is accessible by air, including char-
ter flights, but is not within driving distance of
Western Europe and especially from Northern
rapid economic growth and 4.5-5.5% GNP
annual growth;
●
lower
(though
rising
rapidly)
prices of
●
property, services and goods;
currency (the
lev
) pegged to the euro;
●
expected accession to the EU in 2007;
●
full NATO membership;
●
regular and seasonal flights to the larger
European cities from the country's four
international airports (see the house page of
Worldwidepropertyinvestment.com (
www.
●
Resource Base, Types and Spatial
Structure of Tourism
About 35-40% of Bulgarian territory offers
good conditions for recreation and tourism
