A three-day New Year’s holiday is 15 percent cheaper in Istanbul than in Devin. This was calculated by Monitor on the basis of offers on online booking platforms. Nevertheless, Bulgaria remains the most preferred destination for our people due to the serious anti-epidemic restrictions abroad. The most significant interest is in the guest houses, which have long been crowded for the holiday.
However, the hotels in our country will welcome fewer guests for the New Year due to the significantly higher prices of accommodation compared to the guest houses and the privacy they offer. Thus, in practice, a five-day vacation in Devin with breakfast and New Year’s dinner included in a double deluxe room will cost our people 624 leva. Guests of the hotel will be able to enjoy a late breakfast on the first day of the new year, a welcome drink, afterparty with champagne in a local bar and a spa package, which includes a swimming pool with mineral water, jacuzzi, sauna, sauna area relaxation and fitness.
In comparison, a holiday in a 5-star hotel in the Turkish capital is about a hundred cheaper. The travel agency’s offer includes 3 nights with breakfast, bus transport, a guide during the trip, a visit to the Selimiye Mosque and time for shopping in Edirne. The price of the oriental celebration is 380 leva, but if we decide to celebrate the New Year in the hotel restaurant, we have to pay another 150 leva for an envelope.
Thus, the price of the organized trip reaches BGN 530 or 15% less than in Devin. Although the offers in our southern neighbor are so tempting, the co-chair of the Future for Tourism Association Pavlina Ilieva explains that people who have decided to travel for the holidays have focused mainly on the Maldives, Egypt, Dubai or the Dominican Republic. However, all these charters are in danger of being repealed. We remind you that the new and highly contagious strain of COVID-19 – Omicron, “froze” over 7,000 flights worldwide.
“The industry and customers are starting to adjust to the new situation, which has completely changed the attitude and proposals for travel. To our delight, I would say that the sector is rapidly moving to countries where travel is easier – with clear rules, which are in a very long period of time “, she explained on BNT.
According to her, the biggest blow to business comes from abroad, as large markets such as Germany and Russia are currently closed for travel to Bulgaria, which creates serious problems for large hotels. On the other hand, it turns out that British tourists have returned to our winter resorts after nearly two years of absence.
We remind you that the first charters from Great Britain arrived on December 19. A week later, 6 more planes landed with tourists who will celebrate the New Year in Bulgaria, travelnews.bg reports. The flights are mainly from London, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol and the East Midlands. The other major tour operator – Crystal Ski Holidays (part of TUI UK), has also launched its programs in Bulgaria. Hoteliers and tour operators expect an influx of guests from the Island to our winter resorts due to the restrictions imposed by France, Italy and Austria.
“There is a great chance to attract more Britons to Bulgaria, but unfortunately the panic of the Omicron strain is reflected and people give up at the last minute,” said Balkan Holidays CEO Alexander Stoyanov.
Before the pandemic, Britain was the largest foreign market for our winter resorts.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Tourism in the 2018/2019 season, more than 93,000 British tourists arrived in Bulgaria, who took advantage of the accessible environment for skiing and snowboarding. The United Kingdom is the second most important market for our summer tourism after Germany.
All foreigners, as well as Bulgarians who have chosen to spend the holidays in our country, will have to comply with the new higher prices in the ski areas, which are in force since December 26. Thus, the daily lift pass for an adult in Bansko, for example, is already traded for BGN 79. Students aged 13 to 19 and pensioners should pay BGN 4 less. The lift passes for children up to 7 years of age and for adults over 75 are BGN, and for children between 7 and 12 – 43 BGN. The prices for the day lift tickets in Borovets are increased from BGN 62 to BGN 75 per adult, and the price for the night ride will now be BGN 40 per adult instead of the current BGN 30.
In Pamporovo, the price of a one-day lift pass is now BGN 75 for adults, BGN 59 for young people and BGN 45 for children. The management of the resort informs that for this winter season the new half-day card will increase the time for driving on the slopes by 45 minutes, starting from 11.45 to 16.30. Discounts are available when purchasing ski services such as lift passes, instructor or rental equipment in advance. Additional stations for contactless lifting of lift passes by scanning a QR code have been installed on the territory of the complex.
The mountain turns out to be a more preferred place for Bulgarians for the holiday than the sea. All accommodation in Strandzha will be open for the New Year, and are booked in the summer. At the same time, however, not a single hotel will open in our elite seaside resort Sunny Beach, BNT reported in the meantime.
The owners of the accommodation on the territory of Strandzha also had to raise the prices of their services due to the growth in the electricity bills and the increase in the price of wood. The hotels and villas in the region number 120, and the prices for a house for rent vary from 280 to 380 BGN per night.
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