Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Bulgaria Winter Resorts Desperate for Year-Round Appeal

Tourism
Bulgaria's biggest mountain resorts have begun to make more investments in providing attractions for tourists in the summer.

The resort town of Bansko, for instance, that sits 150km south of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, has seen lately a boom in offers for sports activities, including playing golf, biking and hiking tours, while cultural events have gone on apace.

Another favorite are the packages for spa holidays and "healthy holidays", which include diet menus and light activities.

The formerly off-the-beaten-path destination had gone mainstream, but with none of the construction cranes and gaudy mutrobaroque hotels, favored by the nouveau riche and organized crime mobsters, known as mutri.

Locals in Bansko are banking on a healthy mix of adventure and structure, lots of places to spend the time when you are active and alert, chic, but without the ridiculous attempts to be consmopolitan that you often find at Bulgarian resorts.

Despite their efforts however tourists at the hotspot mountain resort are still a small number during the summer mainly due to poor advertising.

I think the competition in the established alpine resorts is always going to be difficult to compete with, many summer mountain bikers want to take their own equipment and will drive to the alps resorts in 10-12 hours. Obviously Bulgaria can be much cheaper, but this may only apeal to a limited group, as Wen says the advertising is so important, however the type of advertising required to generate sufficient numbers would be expensive, with money tight and many people concerned at wether things will get worse one of the first things to suffer can be holidays.

Don.

Don you are correct
All of my friends are fixing the bikes(they want use regurarly,and love) on the roof of their cars/4x4s and simply cross La Manche heading to the Alps(any part of ) where there is LIMITLESS possibility for mountain biking plus a hell lots more.
And all with:
Very easy reach , convenient motorways,dramatic sceneries, known resorts or valleys, points of interest and thousands different routes,Good size lakes of all sort of height etc etc.
Plus mega cheap accommodations and inclusive packages for all those deciding to spend (part or all of their summer holidays) among the mountain.

Because all that competition, I think BG can be a reasonable destination for mountain walks with easy grades for amateurs with simple-to-none facilities on the routes, minimal/primitive information and (without the risks of avalanches-like todays massive fall in the Mecca of Alpine climbing-Chamonix Region)
Maybe the spa possibility as well can be tapped as a way of attracting few people.
At the moment though BG mountains are for the locals to go cheaply (or completely free) on a walk, take their lunch with them, spend few hours with fresh air on a regular basis and keep on moving.
Or for some property owners(BG and foreign) which want to visit their places,dust off, clear the thistle from the garden and tidy up a little.
Also Mountains are always very popular with the people from Beach Regions who hate the heat and the overcrowding on the BG Beaches and head in opposite direction to drink cleaner H2O, breath easy and sleep nicely at night rather than fight with mosquitoes all night long and spent the nightmare small hours splashing their blood on the bedroom walls.
And spent next to nothing in the process.

With or without advertising I don't think anything will change but why not trying at least.

Just a thought:
I will still live to see a Turk on a bike-then I will have a grand Rakia to celebrate that fenomenon.
Never even seen Vizantiitci (Greeks that is) Cycling eigther
Macedonians have plenty of mountains as the Serbs themselves.
Firther afiels say Slovenians -they have develop nicely this type of leisure activities(they are light years ahead and probably leaders in the field so very unlikely somebody to travel East for that.
Not sure on the Romanians but Have never seen Romanian registration cars with cycles on the roofs.
I have been to Greece with bikes with the family.
To ask Germans Dutch Bs etc to put their bikes on the roofs and start the dodgy crossing of Europe and ending up maybe with the foor only if they are lucky is not viable.
In Romania for example is well known that you have to be mega alert for pick pockets from just Walking around, from cars, bags- you name it.
Let's be honest Biking flood in BG is very unlikely.
Maybe Spa tourism maybe Cultural Tourism but that when proper facilities are present and the infrastructure is fully in place.
We are talking the generation after us at least.

FAO: "Mr M"

Firstly, you are not referring to people from Turkey or Greece in a polite way. It is year 2012, not 1950.
Secondly, see the text below

I have written you a verse. I hope you like it. Booze Booze

*******************************************************************

Day after day,
Alone on many forums (Mr M)
The man with many rude posts is keeping perfectly still (Mr M)

But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he's rude, ignorant with no manners,
And he never gives an answer,

But the fool on many forums,
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning round, thinking the Alps are the best.

Well on the way,
Head on many forums,
The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him,
or the sound he appears to make,
and he never seems to notice (but he should),

But the fool on many forums,
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning round, thinking you can drive to the Alps cheaper than a flight to Bulgaria.

And nobody seems to like him,
they can tell he's rude, ignorant with no manners,
and he never shows his feelings,

But the fool on many forums,
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning round, with himself as a major pick up artist on his website.

Ooh, ooh,
Round and round and round.

And he never listens to them (but he should),
He knows that they're the fools (but they are not)
They don't like him,

But the fool on many forums
Sees the sun going down,
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning 'round, thinking this foum is one-sided but others are worse, with 90% having business link ups.

Ooh,
Round and round and round

With referance to some of Mikeys points... Greeks do ride, and in large numbers, the last rally in Thesoloniki attracting over 5000 riders, the Romanians also are very keen. The other interesting point is that in both countries now there is no facility to uplift mountain bikes, the last lift for such use was closed to bikes last year in Poiana Brasov... Riders from these countries already use Borovets, and are keen to see more facilities. Russians also will travel to search uplift... These riders tend to be 'gravity' riders, preferring to risk life and limb in the freeride and downhill area of the sport.
I have just finished a two week stint in Borovets and Pamporovo, with visiting Brit bikers, whose opinions were sought, and to a man were impressed with the standard of trails, organisation, uplift and accomadation... and most importantly, value for money !
Some of these riders have visited Alpine parks and admitted that Bulgaria had a way to go in the extent of trails, but also noted that the problems of overcrowding, queuing and poor accomadation did not exist here... they will be back

Steve to count on bike income from summer is very hopefull(congrats) but bordering with the Fantastic.

.......and There is one very angry man on here.
I Suggest: Calm down Mr Skier!
Firstly you are far away from any reality to tell me or correct me what way I reffer to Turks or Greeks.
Don't even try to touch the history books Please because you are far far away from it all.
BG has a HUGE problem from the Turks trying to separate parts of Bulgaria and join T.
1950?
What has happened during that year monsieur Skier if I may ask ?
Absolutely Zero has happened in the year 1950 or around it.
Ask you BG buddies(hope they are with BG origins so they can help you )
As for the Greeks I am part Greek so Please do not type rubbish unless you come from same place the.
Swimm on the surface I advise and don't go into deep or fast waters

When you are angry that nobody is answering your rubbish question bordering with desperation Take a deep breath, count to 100 and you will be fine trust me (minus the losses you have occurred of course )
Nice that you have finished your postings with many beer glasses signs.
That says it all (another 'alcoholic anonymous' visitor turn into investor)
Nothing new here I say.