Golf to Improve Bulgaria Tourism Image

Sofia News Agency

Golf clubs and resorts are going to improve Bulgaria's image as tourist destination by offering an alternative to the concrete cities that have been built on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coasts, announced Darik news Tuesday citing the German news agency DPA (Deutsche Press-Agentur GmbH).

The article begins with a description of the golf club in Ravno Pole, located 25 km away from Sofia, adding that at the moment 19 golf courses are being constructed in Bulgaria, including the one worth EUR 50 M near Pravets, the birthplace of Communist Dictator Todor Zhivkov.

According to DPA, the golf course in Ravno Pole is visited by more and more Sofia residents, diplomats and foreign investors.

Experts believe that the strong investment interest would lead to the eventual construction of a total of 40 golf courses in Bulgaria with the Cabinet supporting plans to turn the country into an international golf destination.

DPA further tell its readers that Bulgaria has favorable climate and extremely attractive landscapes, adding that people involved in golfing are trying everything possible to convince others that this is not an elitist game, but rather an excellent way to fight stress and spend family vacations since more and more golf courses offer attractions even for young children.

The DPA reporter states that golf courses were going to be a good tourist alternative for Bulgaria to discontinue the country's association with cheap Black Sea vacations.

After the construction boom on the sea coast, the upcoming summer was going to show if Bulgaria's tourism would be able to escape its concrete sins and return to nature, according to DPA, which reminds that 2007 was a record tourist year with international sea and ski resorts in Bulgaria attracting over 5 million tourists.

The reporter also mentions the fact that after Bulgaria's joining of the European Union, the number of EU tourists has increased by 50% and profits from tourism in 2007 have reached the record EUR 2,3 B - an 11% increase compared to the previous year with the State Tourist Agency in Bulgaria expecting a 10% increase in 2008.