Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In 1989, 80% of foreign tourists were from
former Communist countries, while in 2003
about 60% of arrivals and 75% of overnights
were from EU countries. The German share is
especially large, and the British and Greek pro-
portion substantial too, while Russia and some
of the new EU members such as Poland are far
below their 1989 level.
There are strong seasonal variations in the
different markets. For the majority, summer
holidays dominate, while among Greek and UK
tourists the January-April period is favoured
(Greeks representing 25% of tourists in this
period, while the UK proportion grew by 43%
in 2004 compared to 2003) (Devnik, 2005).
During the 2002-2004 period the rate of
winter tourism arrivals has grown faster than
summer.
Bulgarian outbound tourism increased in
the first years of transition, but after 2000 it
stabilized at around 3-4 million trips, mainly
to neighbouring Turkey, Greece and FYR
Macedonia. Bulgarian expenditure abroad
reached US$800m in 2004. About one million
Bulgarians travel abroad primarily for tourism,
but most trips are not recreational in character;
however, the number of recreational holidays
to Turkey and Greece is rising. According to
Turkish frontier statistics in 2003, Bulgarians
represented the second largest group after
Germans. Bulgarians are the biggest group of
visitors to FYR Macedonia, while Romania, and
Serbia and Montenegro also attract a consider-
able number of trips. Visits to neighbouring
Balkan countries are usually short and spread
throughout the year. The main reason for such
a pattern is the dramatic increase in transport
costs, especially airfares, causing a reduction in
more distant trips.
The majority of foreign arrivals are by car
and coach, though the proportion by air is
increasing dynamically and now supplies about
25% of all tourism visits. Proportions by train
and ship are not significant.
In general, the financial performance of
Bulgarian tourism has improved since 1997
and more specifically in the years 2001-2004
when a considerable rejuvenation in the inter-
national tourism market occurred. There was
a positive balance of payments in tourism
reaching
€
1bn in 2004; but the impressive
results of Bulgarian inbound tourism would be
considerably better if the country was pro-
moted abroad more consistently. In 2004,
Bulgaria had a national stand at only five
tourism fairs and had smaller stands at 36
other events (30 in EU countries, the rest in
the CIS, Israel and the Middle East) (from
www.netinfo.bg,
2005).
Quality Issues
The growth of Bulgarian tourism in the last few
years should not hide existing serious problems
which could impede the development of the
country as a sustainable tourism destination.
Tourism quality is still judged according to
service providers' perceptions rather than an
evaluation of clients' preferences. The supply
side dominates, partly based on real demand,
partly on long-standing myths of what foreign
tourists are interested in. This is particularly the
case in gastronomy; many tourists now seek
local produce, yet there persists the belief that
foreign tourists would consume Western food
and drinks such as hamburgers and whisky.
Such quality issues are at least in part a
legacy of the Communist period when services
were perceived as mass, non-personalized and
inflexible. Considering the image of the country
as a seaside holiday destination and the less
developed resources of its interior, tourism at
the Black Sea coast will continue to be crucial
for Bulgarian tourism. Pursuing diversification
and flexibility within the basic seaside product
is probably a more realistic proposition than
introducing alternative forms of tourism. Such a
diversification should be based on an exten-
sion of the season and the continued opera-
tion of more hotels throughout the year adapted
to hosting such activities as conferences, train-
ing sessions and group therapy. The main
trend should be away from mere sunbathing
and include more water sports and outdoor
activities.
The diversification and upgrading of the
level of services should be one of the strategic
objectives of Bulgarian tourism. This cannot
be achieved without upgrading the infra-
structure and improving training for those
in the industry. Both tourists and entrepre-
neurs complain about the poor roads and
