Hoteliers and Restaurateurs in Bansko Voice Concerns Over Currency Shift
The tourism sector in Bansko is voicing significant concerns regarding payment procedures and revenue reporting as Bulgaria transitions from the lev to the euro
Bulgarian Hotels 20% Shut, 60% Empty
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Bad human resource management is a major reason for the challenges faced by Bulgarian hotels. Photo by allhotels.bg
About 20% of the existing hotels in Bulgaria remain closed whereas 60% of the total number of hotel beds in the country remain unoccupied.
The data was announced Tuesday by Rumen Draganov, Chair of the Institute for Analysis and Estimates in Tourism, as quoted by the Pari Daily.
Draganov believes that Bulgaria's tourism revenue would be 20% lower in 2009 compared to 2008 - about EUR 1,9 B compared to EUR 2,4 B in 2008.
According to Draganov, one of the main factors for the lack of tourists to fill up the hotel beds in Bulgaria is the bad human resource management. Since most hotels provided employment to their staff only three months per year, they were left only with low-skilled personnel, thus bringing down the level of the offered services.
Draganov's expectation is that more and more hotel owners in Bulgaria would not be able to pay off their credits, and would have to sell or shut down their hotels.
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