Fewer Scandinavian Tourists Visit Bulgaria Due to Bad Service

Business | July 3, 2008, Thursday // 00:00

The ambassadors of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden announced Wednesday that the number of Scandinavians tourists visiting Bulgaria had declined because of the bad service and safety issues in Bulgarian resorts.

The Scandinavian ambassadors alarmed the Deputy Foreign Minister Milen Keremedchiev and the Deputy Chair of the State Tourism Agency Stela Baltova about the situation during a special meeting, which took place on Wednesday.

According to data of the Tourism Investors' Union, the number of Scandinavian tourists visiting Bulgaria has dropped 50% on annual basis.

The main cause of the decline is the murder of a Swedish citizen in the Sunny Beach resort in 2007, which was followed by outrage in the media in the Scandinavian states.

The ambassadors of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden informed the Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister of specific cases of violating the rights of the citizens of their countries.

Keremedchiev promised to meet with the Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry and with prosecutors in order to inspect the cases, and to report back on them in October.

In 2007 Bulgaria was visited by 104 000 Swedes (1,4% of all foreign tourists according to the State Tourism Agency), 88 500 Danes, 78 000 Norwegians, and 76 000 Finns.

The measures for improving the safety of the foreign tourists include a special meeting with the Interior Minister Mihail Mikov.

After the Head of the State Tourism Agency Aneliya Krushkova predicted in May that the number of foreign tourists in 2008 would grow by 7-8%, at the end of June this prognosis turned out to be wrong as the Sunny Beach resort is reported to be half empty.

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