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German tour operator ITS returns to Bulgarian ski resorts

After a two-year absence, German travel company ITS has decided to include a couple of Bulgaria's ski resorts in its winter '06-'07 catalogue, said the tour operator's local representative Kalin Sutev.

ITS, which will share with German peer TUI seats on the flights of Bulgarian carrier Air Via, will resume business with ski resorts Borovets and Bansko, said Sutev.

The company will market Pamporovo because it is unable to ensure on its own or in partnership with other tour operators sufficient passenger load for charter flights to Plovdiv, the closest aerial gateway to the Bulgarian ski resort. The only other option is to bus the tourists from the Sofia International Airport to Pamporovo, a trek that has proven unpopular in the past, said Sutev.

In 2003, a total of 2,500 Germans booked ski holidays in Bulgaria through ITS, down from around 3,000 the year before.

Following the pullout of ITS a couple of years ago, two other travel majors - TUI and Thomas Cook, also dropped Pamporovo from their portfolios. The owners of hotels in Pamporovo said at the time this was the first sign that tour operators are shifting their business to Bansko and Borovets due to their proximity to the Sofia airport.

Therefore the hotel owners hope urgent measures will be taken to modernise the Plovdiv airport.(Dnevnik)