| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 01/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 36 |
| Copyright: Other |
Operators aim for a captive audience
New programme to boost revival
Bulgaria
A new Bulgarian holiday programme just launched on the UK market is filling the void left by last summer’s closure of specialist operator Balkan Tourist.Travelcoast’s Captivating Bulgaria programme is targeting 6,000 clients between early May and mid-October with beach holidays, city breaks and tours.
Travelcoast general manager Robin Allen said: “We’ve launched Captivating Bulgaria on the back of privatisation and upgrading of hotels throughout Bulgaria.
“Standards have improved all round and though we have to establish our name in the market, we’re confident we can succeed. We hope people will come to see Bulgaria as a new option.”
The operator is using scheduled flights of Balkan Bulgarian Airlines from London to Sofia, with connections to the Black Sea airports of Varna and Bourgas.
Resorts served include Albena, Golden Sands, Sunny Beach, St Constantin and Nessebur. The programme leads in at £229 for seven nights bed and breakfast at the two-star Zvezda in Albena. Most of the Black Sea programme is on half-board. There are two all-inclusives – the three-star Ralitza and two-star Varshava, both in Albena and leading at £309 for seven nights.
“Golden Sands and Sunny Beach are the hub of the programme – both classic Black Sea resorts, where the diet is the beach, good restaurants and nightlife,” said Allen.
A seven-night tour of Bulgaria costs from £399 with flights and half-board in mainly four-star hotels. City stays in Sofia start at £21 a night, excluding flights.
Bulgaria’s UK-based trade and tourism counsellor Christo Sharenkov confirmed that Bulgaria’s hotel privatisation programme was complete. “All hotels have been modernised and most have pools,” he said. “What we need now is more operators like Travelcoast featuring Bulgaria. It’s 10 years since the revolution and the German market has returned, so why not the British?”
There were 250,000 German visitors to Bulgaria last year, against 70,000 Britons. The UK market was badly hit by the Kosovo crisis, which caused the cancellation of summer charter flights.
The merger of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Trade and Tourism with the Ministry of Industry to become the new Ministry of Economy will give tourism a higher priority, according to Sharenkov.
“Our tourism promotional budget should increase as a result of the merger,” he said. “I also feel that the reopening of the UK tourist office is more likely now than for several years.”
Balkan Bulgarian has increased its Heathrow-Sofia frequency to six flights a week – daily except Tuesday – from this month with the addition of a Thursday evening flight.
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Factfile
Bulgaria