OVER-POPULATED RESORTS IN BULGARIA A SETBACK FOR TOURISTS
Construction
The state failed to impose efficient measures to prevent hotel construction growth in Bulgaria's seaside resorts, resulting in a decrease in prices and demand. As the state proved incapable of restricting new construction in the resorts, the private sector found another way of dealing with the problem, starting to explore tourism possibilities in areas away from the large resorts, Capital newspaper said. Hotel owners said that the big resorts like Sunny Beach and Golden Sands no longer have development potential. Although four and five-star hotels are half-empty, investors keep on constructing new ones. With over 200 hotel construction projects in Sunny Beach, most investors now prefer small-sized projects in less constructed and yet unexplored areas of the seaside, Capital reported. Because of the increased competition, bed prices have fallen to seven euro a night. Sergei Sarumov from the State Tourism Agency said that less than 60 per cent of the accommodation capacity was used. He said that he hoped the ban on construction during the tourism season might bring back some of the German tourists to Bulgaria's seaside. Until last year Germany was the country with highest interest in Bulgaria as tourist destination. A new law bans the construction of tall buildings and limits the density of hotels on the seaside. These measures would hardly change the critical situation in the large resorts, Capital said. Apart from the over-construction in the resorts, tourists are set back by the over-populated beaches. 29.05.2006 http://www.sofiaecho.com/(30.05.2006)