The annual tourist exhibition “Holiday & Spa Expo 2010” is one of the major events in the Bulgarian tourist industry. It is held at the National Palace of Culture in the capital city of Sofia. This year’s edition will take place from February 25th to 27th and will gather tour operators, hotel managers and owners, along with representatives of branch organizations from 21 different countries. The participants will present their holiday offers and will negotiate the forthcoming summer season. The occasion will be suitable for advertising the so-called “Easter packages” that are becoming more and more popular in Bulgaria.
"Last-minute" offers for winter packages
The organizers say that there is a huge interest towards the exhibition, despite the financial crisis and the recession in the tourist industry. Obviously the contractors from the branch realize how important good advertisement and successful business contacts are for them to survive in these hard times. This explains the participation not only of Bulgarian exhibitioners, but also of many foreign tour operators, as well as representatives of national tourist organizations. Bulgaria appears to be a relatively new and perspective destination to some of them and their presence at the exhibition gives them the chance to study the local market tendencies. Bulgaria’s neighboring country Greece is most strongly presented, it will even double its exhibition area this year. Greek tour operators are preparing to tempt the Bulgarian tourist, hesitant in these times of crisis, with promotional packages and extra bonuses. A real invasion is expected of firms from Turkey, Austria, Italy, Romania, Tunisia, etc. Companies from exotic destinations, such as Peru, the Dominican Republic and South Africa will be presented for the first time. However, the average Bulgarians prefer to spend their holiday at home, due to financial difficulties, or simply because they love Bulgaria. That is why the Bulgarian participants in the exhibition will rely again on their traditional offers for a Black sea or a mountain holiday. Spa programs will be specially viewed, since they are becoming more and more popular in this country and abroad. “Our ministry will participate in the exhibition with its own stand and with the financial support of the “Regional Development” operative program” Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Ivo Marinov said, adding:
Greece is a popular destination
“Bulgarian municipalities, tourist information centers and associations will be presented at the stand. We do rely on the discussions that will take place in the exhibition’s additional program. They will deal with the new tourist law, as well as with Bulgaria’s tourist zoning, which is among the law’s major components. I expect a friendly discussion, after which we will start writing the law itself. Probably it will be finished by the end of the third quarter of 2010. Some of the accents will be keeping Bulgarian tourists in Bulgaria, attracting new guests and maintaining business contacts with new airline companies, including low-cost ones.”
Local municipalities launch interesting offers
The Holiday & Spa Expo 2010 will be accentuating again on Bulgarian municipalities that are trying seriously to diversify their tourist attractions and accommodation possibilities. Around 30% of them will participate in the exhibition with their own stands. The share of offers for adventure tours and village holidays becomes bigger. The exhibition’s visitors will be pleasantly surprised by offers for wine tourism, horse-riding tours from the Rhodope to the Strandzha Mountain, butterfly watching, culinary evenings, picking of wild herbs, etc. The guests will be attracted by local wines and meals’ tasting, along with ancient customs’ re-creation, performances of amateur folk bands and others. It is obvious that the representatives of the tourist branch will not let themselves be discouraged by the crisis.
English translation: Zhivko Stanchev
