April in Bulgaria is the time for recruiting staff, concluding rental agreements and final preparations for the tourist season. Unfortunately, this year due to the coronavirus the situation will be somewhat different. When will quarantine end, borders will open, the summer tourist season will begin and how will coronavirus affect holidays in Bulgaria? In this article we will try to answer these questions, and also consider the anti-crisis plan proposed Bulgarian government. Comments from local tourism experts will also be presented (in the form of excerpts from Bulgarian sources). In conclusion, the author will present his own vision and give a forecast for the development of the situation, based on the experience of long-term residence in Bulgaria.
Situation overview
Let us remind you that on March 13, 2020, a state of emergency was declared in Bulgaria until March 29 lka< /a>, then the deadline was extended until May 13 (Reserve RD-01-195/10.04.2020). Currently, there are many checkpoints installed throughout the country (which can only be bypassed by filling out a declaration and indicating an important reason Zapoved RD-01-143/20.03.2020), several cities are closed for complete quarantine. The situation is ambiguous; the possibility of extending the state of emergency for another month is being discussed. Daily data on coronavirus in Bulgaria (number of recovered and infected, mortality) we publish here.
Local hoteliers are certainly saddened that the start date of the tourist season is being pushed into the unknown. However, there is hope that the residents of Bulgaria will “save the season”, who this year will most likely go on vacation to their native (more budget-friendly) Black Sea coast. There is also reason to believe that part of the salaries of civil servants will be paid in vouchers to the sea. This is especially true for those working on the front lines in the fight against the virus. Of course, hoteliers and private landlords have already lost part of their income, because the summer tourist season in Bulgaria begins in May. International experts believe the virus will continue to circulate in the air despite the warm weather.
When will the 2020 summer season start in Bulgaria?
The most optimistic forecast was given by Rumen Draganov (Institute for Analysis and Forecasts on the Information Environment in Tourism): the tourism industry will “thaw” 2 weeks after the state of emergency is lifted, which, according to him, will happen < span class="bold">around June 20. “The Chinese opened their hotels after 14 weeks. Most likely it will be the same in our country,” explained Rumen Draganov.
Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova said that it is most likely worth preparing for a short summer season - from July to August. Tourism industry representatives who participated in online discussions with the minister said the pandemic is most likely to peak in late June to mid-July. Angelkova noted that since the beginning of the crisis caused by the coronavirus, 70,000 unemployed have been registered in Bulgaria, 23.7% of them were employed in the hotel and restaurant business sector.
Dimitar Popov from the Board of Directors of the Association of Bulgarian Tour Operators and Travel Agencies (ABTTA) also suggested a short season - from August to September. According to him, it is during these months that foreign tourists are expected to become interested in the Black Sea. The Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism is discussing the option of canceling tax fees from beach owners; in return, they should provide umbrellas and sun loungers to vacationers for free. Nikolina Angelkova hopes that this will serve as a motivating factor when choosing a country for a summer holiday.
“This is a good measure. The truth is that in general the fee for a sunbed and umbrella is very high. South of Burgas, for example in Sozopol, the cost of a set of umbrella + sun lounger is 24 leva, which is equivalent to the cost of accommodation for a day for two in a local hotel,” compares Diana Kolcheva. “The income that goes to hotels and restaurants will be returned to the state in the form of taxes, while a number of bankruptcies in the tourism industry will be prevented, and the Bulgarian economy will have the opportunity to recover.”
This idea is also supported by Rumen Draganov, who sees it as an opportunity to increase interest and therefore consumption. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria, Dimitar Popov, is skeptical: “The main problem of Bulgarian tourism is that the beach area is used irrationally - it is worth reconsidering the area occupied by umbrellas and sunbeds.”
Coronavirus as an opportunity for development
The Ministry of Tourism is also working on a digital application that will allow vacationers to obtain information about the cost and hygienic conditions for the provision of umbrellas and sun loungers, as well as compliance with other necessary conditions (for example, accommodation taking into account a safe distance) at beaches of Bulgaria. The ministry hopes that feedback from users will make it possible to monitor whether beach owners are complying with the prescribed precautions.
The National Tourism Council insists on the abolition of visas for Russian tourists visiting Bulgaria. According to Diana Kolcheva and Rumen Draganov, visas should be issued directly at airports upon arrival. “Both Türkiye and Russia are very important markets for Bulgaria. There are no casinos in Turkey - if a visa can be obtained at the airport, do you know how many wealthy Turks who are passionate about gambling will be able to spend large sums of money in Varna and Burgas,” Kolcheva said.
Another measure that the National Tourism Council insists on is stimulating airlines flying to Bulgaria by reducing fees at airports. It is known that it is planned to allocate about 15 million levs to help the tourism industry. Part of the funds is planned to be spent on advertising in Germany, Great Britain and Russia, as well as on stimulating domestic tourism. The Nessebar Hotel Owners Club proposes to give part of these funds in the form of vouchers to specialists who are currently fighting on the front line with the virus: doctors, police officers and gendarmerie officers.
Quarantine 5 stars
Hotel owners are calling on the state to develop a compensation mechanism for hotels, which is necessary when tourists are detected infected with coronavirus. According to Rumen Draganov, in such a situation the “Norwegian approach” should be applied: the infected person is isolated in his room, receiving food delivered, while other tourists do not require quarantine. The Ministry of Tourism is studying the possibility of financing such compensation using unspent funding allocated by the European Union.
Author's forecast
It is no secret that most of the inhabitants of Bulgaria survive from year to year only due to the tourism industry. By closing the borders and postponing the start of the season indefinitely, the state is “cutting off the oxygen” to its citizens. This is unwise and could have much more serious consequences than a few deaths from coronavirus. In addition, this year's ski season ended before it even began - many citizens did not have time to earn money.
The number of deaths and cases of infection is increasing every day, however, almost all of the patients who died were elderly and had chronic diseases. There is unverified information that most of the deaths are Roma. In addition, some citizens believe that they have already had coronavirus this winter.
Based on the fact that most people have already stopped wearing masks, we can say that the main wave of panic has passed. Shops began to open. Boyko Borisov (Prime Minister of Bulgaria) recently (April 21) made a statement about easing the measures. Most likely, at the end of May we will see another series of “easing” with the subsequent opening of borders, and the resumption of air traffic with a number of countries interested in summer holidays in Bulgaria. The author also does not exclude the possibility of extending the season until October-November.
In conclusion, it is certainly worth mentioning the influence of the EU on all decisions made in Bulgaria, since at the moment this is the main source of financing for the country.
Comments of Bulgarian experts are taken from the source flagman.bg "Anti-crisis plan for the 2020 season"