Pamporovo resort beds up 7 times in as many years

Dnevnik weekly

The bed capacity of Bulgarian ski resort Pamporovo has increased from around 2,000 in 2000 to 15,000-20,000 at present.

The municipalities of Smolian and Chepelare each have jurisdiction over a section of the resort and issue building permits for the respective territory.

According to the Smolian municipality, the number of beds on its section of the resort is around 12,000.

The Smolian municipality said it granted eight building permits in 2007 for a total of 2,000 beds.

The bed capacity of the Chepelare section is slightly lower. According to the yet-unapproved zoning plan of the municipality, the bed capacity could reach 9,000. The municipality declined to specify the number of issued building permits.

There are only 15 hotels in the resort. The rest of the bed capacity is provided by holiday homes complexes.

Although Pamporovo has not yet seen anything resembling the binge construction witnessed at Bansko, for instance, the resort has a solid pipeline of projects.

Pamporovo AD, the operator of the resort skiing infrastructure, has just announced plans for new ski runs that will connect the resort with the village of Stoikite where the company is building a new vacation community.

The latest investment projects will increase the combined length of ski courses in the resort to 30 km and the ski lift capacity to 10,000 skiers per hour.