Some 4% increase expected in the number of winter tourists

Bulgaria expects some 3.5% - 4% increase in the number of tourists for the winter season, Chairman of the Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism Rumen Draganov told Focus News Agency on Thursday.

"The upcoming winter season began well in terms of sales in Europe because the cooler weather and the snow which fell in Western Europe resulted in an increase in bookings," he said. The World Travel Market Exchange, which ended a week ago in London, showed that there was an increase in bookings to Bulgaria on the British market by about 10%. This means that the British market is starting to emerge from the recession and is now reviving since, due to the economic crisis, it was sluggish in the past few years and Bulgaria noted a drop in the number of tourists from the UK. The good performance of Bulgaria in the last winter season, when the Ski World Cup was held in Bansko, and the European Ski Cup took place in Pamporovo, was a good advertisement for Bulgaria and, therefore, the number of tourists in the winter season will increase. According to Draganov, the fact that Vitosha will not be able to work properly is still worrying and it is not clear yet whether Vitosha will be able to regain its tourists who were there in the period before 2010 - 2011, when the facilities were closed.

"The winter also offers a great number of events related to holidays and customs. In January, February and March, almost all municipalities celebrate very interesting holidays associated with the celebrations after New Year's Eve, with mummers' holidays and festivals and with the religious calendar. During this period, tourists and visitors can actively enjoy theatres, the opera and ballet, concerts of the Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras, as well as other cultural events. So, this will be a period in which we expect an increase in the number of tourists in the cultural tourism parameter," added Draganov.

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