site.btaBansko Mayor Highlights World Competitions as Great Investment in Resort's Promotion, Development as Tourist Destination

Bansko will again be hosting world competitions, which is one of the strongest investments in the promotion and development of the resort as a tourist destination, Bansko Mayor Stoycho Banenski told the Bulgarian News Agency on the eve of the official start of the 2025/2026 winter season on Friday.

"Through television broadcasts and reports, the world starts reach millions of viewers. The name Bansko stands alongside Chamonix, Kitzbuhel, Cortina, Aspen, which is advertising that no resort can buy with traditional marketing and leads to increased tourist interest and employment," he pointed out, adding that big sports stars are an example for young people to follow.

The start of the winter season is set for December 13 in the Bansko Ski Area, with special guests Italian former alpine skier Giorgio Rocca and Austrian-Luxemburgish five-time World Cup overall champion Marc Girardelli expected to attend the festivities. Banenski emphasized that the Municipality, the concessionaire of the ski area, the tourist business, service providers, traders and residents of the resort town are involved in the preparation for the winter season, since winter tourism is the structurally determining sector for the economy of the city and the Municipality.

The Mayor pointed out that he has held meetings and conversations with leaders from the tourism industry, who indicated that they have prepared and improved their material bases and expanded the spectrum of services offered. According to the tourism business, reservations are going well, and the hopes are that the winter will be favorable and the mountains will be snowy. 

Banenski also noted how the Municipality ensures safe conditions for tourists, including snow removal from streets and roads, garbage collection, increasing the number of municipal staff and those of the Interior Ministry, in order to ensure order and security. "We coordinate our work with electricity and water suppliers in case of higher consumption, as well as with those controlling food quality and tax authorities. We have taken care of all this in advance and I believe that with the experience and the accumulated useful routine, we will cope successfully," he said, pointing out that Bansko is welcoming the winter with newly asphalted and repaired streets and sidewalks, increased parking spaces, renovated and completely reconstructed playgrounds, improved lighting and fewer abandoned and unfinished apartment buildings.

"For our foreign guests, it will be more convenient to use euros for cash payments, and for locals, handling the European currency is not something new or unusual," Banenski commented regarding the euro introduction in Bulgaria from January 1, 2026. He stated that the summer tourist season in Bansko was successful for the tourist business and for the cultural and social life in the resort. "By saturating the calendar with various events organized by the Municipality and private business, we are moving towards the big goal in establishing Bansko, Dobrinishte and the region as a year-round tourist destination", he concluded.