The latest statistics showed a decline in the number of foreign visitors to Bulgaria, but gloomy forecasts for Bulgaria’s ski resorts might have been a touch exaggerated. Even without any official figures in yet, news of bankruptcies has been conspicuous by its absence.

That is not to say that all is well with Bulgaria’s tourism sector, but ski resorts appear to have weathered the first squall of the credit crunch without major casualties.

The dry numbers are that the number of foreign visitors to Bulgaria was down 10 per cent in January 2009, compared to the same month of 2008, with only the numbers of Germans and Romanians visiting Bulgaria rising, by 0.2 and 1.7 per cent, respectively, according to data from Bulgaria’s statistics board. The number of Britons visiting Bulgaria was down 10 per cent.

About 42 per cent of the 266 700 foreigners who came to Bulgaria declared tourism as their purpose of visit, but the National Statistical Institute did not provide any comparable figure for January 2008.

Ski resorts avoided the worst because Bulgarian tourists made up for the shortfall in foreigner numbers, the head of the State Agency for Tourism (SAT), Anelia Kroushkova, told Bulgarian news agency BTA on February 27, without citing precise figures.

The credit crunch did not bypass the sector unnotice, however. With one month left to the skiing season, hotels and travel companies have stepped up efforts to lure customers with price cuts and special offers. Online booking website bulgariaski.com is advertising discounts of 15 per cent, plus a further five per cent for "regular customers" in 11 Bansko hotels, while travel company Balkan Holiday is hoping to tempt skiers with free ski lift passes on week-long holiday packages for Pamporovo.

The winter is not over yet, but the summer months, which bring in the bulk of tourists and revenue, are already under scrutiny. A report by Dnevnik daily in January said that early bookings were down by half as potential tourists took their time to decide on which destination to choose.

Appearing resigned to the idea that Bulgaria would lose a lot of foreign custom, Kroushkova said that the emphasis again would be on persuading Bulgarians to choose domestic resorts.

"It is the topic we are now discussing, how to make sure that Bulgarians spend their summer holidays in Bulgaria," Kroushkova told BTA.
For now, the SAT is counting more on hotel owners and travel companies to entice both Bulgarian and foreign customers.

"The fact that we have only a 10 per cent decline, which is a fairly small figure compared with other countries, means that the tourism industry found the right price levels. Whether we will manage the same in summer, is up to the industry," Kroushkova said.

Asked to comment on recent proposals by the tourism industry for state aid, either as tax breaks or outright Government subsidies, Kroushkova said that nothing had been decided.

"The decision lies with the Finance Ministry. The amount is not negligible, but I think there should be some kind of stimulus for anyone who decides to visit Bulgaria."