As the summer season approaches, preparations on Bulgaria’s Southern Black Sea Coast are in full swing, with businesses gearing up for the arrival of tourists around Easter. The hospitality industry is facing a significant challenge in filling seasonal positions, with a demand for around 200,000 workers in Sunny Beach alone. Despite offering salaries 10% higher than last year, a shortage of staff persists.

Hotel owners are increasingly looking to hire workers from third countries to meet the demand. However, after Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen, the process of bringing in foreign workers has become more complicated. A hotel near Pomorie, for example, is in need of 400 staff members, BNT reports. As Bulgarians tend to seek year-round employment, the hotel is turning to workers from countries like Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, and Bangladesh. Hoteliers appreciate the experience these foreign workers bring, as they often have prior experience in the hotel industry, reducing the need for training.

The process of recruiting workers from abroad has been slow, with visa applications for countries like India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and others in the region causing particular delays. This is due to additional bureaucratic requirements after Bulgaria's Schengen accession, which means that confirmation must now be obtained from all Schengen area countries, instead of just the Bulgarian embassy as in the past. Hoteliers have been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to expedite the process and increase capacity for issuing work visas.

Despite these efforts, hoteliers are concerned that some workers may abscond once they arrive. This was a problem last summer, particularly with workers from Nepal. To mitigate this, some hotels have been looking to bring in additional workers, knowing that some may not stay.

The most in-demand positions are cleaners, waiters, and bartenders, with salaries ranging from 1,400 to 2,500 leva. While some hotels are planning to open at the end of April, the first foreign workers are expected to arrive in early May. In the meantime, businesses are working to ensure that they can fill the large number of vacancies before the peak tourist season begins.