Last-minute bookings hold the key to success in Bulgaria’s upcoming winter tourism season as holidaymakers hunt for bargains.

While last-minute holidays dominated the summer season, tour operators are still offering the same rates as last winter season, aiming for a repeat performance in terms of tourist numbers, a poll by Dnevnik showed. Tourist agencies and hotel owners will decide on possible offer updates after the London fair, on November 9-13, when they are expected to have a clearer view on bookings for Bulgarian resorts.

The first indicator of the second successive season against the backdrop of the economic downturn are charter bookings at the airports in capital Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city. Bookings so far have mirrored last-season levels, with chartered flights from Sofia are set to be re-directed to Plovdiv again.

Sofia Airport has registered 260 flights by seven carriers, of which two are debuting on the market. Figures by the airport show that only flights from Russia will see a decline but more than 45 000 tourists could arrive in Bulgaria if all seats are taken, or 10 000 more than last year.

Plovdiv has seen charter bookings decline, with not a single flight expected from the UK, which is Bulgaria’s core skiing tourism market. About 20 000 tourists are expected to be flown by the four airlines that will use the airport.

Counting as they do on last-minute bookings, Bulgarian hotel owners are facing fierce competition from European resorts, which rolled out lucrative price discounts and a flurry of bonuses at the very start of the booking season. Resorts are hoping that Macedonian and Serbian tourists will make up for the falling numbers of British and Scandinavian tourists after the visa requirements for those two nations are scrapped from January 1 2010. The Greek market also expected to make a contribution.

Source: Dnevnik