site.btaParliament’s Tourism Committee Meets in Albena Resort to Discuss Sector’s Prospects

The National Assembly Committee on Tourism convened at the Maritim Hotel Paradise Blue in the Black Sea resort of Albena on Saturday to discuss challenges and prospects for the tourism industry at the start of summer 2025.

After Committee Chair Desislav Taskov opened the meeting, its member Ivan Belchev said that similar events with business executives usually take place on a smaller scale at the National Assembly in Sofia, but now the MPs have a chance for expanded dialogue with stakeholders.

Krasimir Stanev, Executive Director of resort operator Albena AD, said the project for the Albena-Balchik coastal protection dam is the earliest undertaking of its kind in Bulgaria but the last 800-1000 m of its total length of 7,000 m is yet to be constructed.

Balchik Mayor Nikolai Angelov said he is working for the upgrade of existing infrastructure, water treatment plants and the town’s seafront alley. He identified landslides as a problem. “They endanger tourists who choose to walk the distance between Balchik and Albena. We hope for legislative changes to create better conditions for us to keep developing tourism,” Angelov said.

In his words, Balchik has one of the most developed tourist sectors among Bulgarian municipalities. “The Municipality collaborates very well with the tourist business,” he noted.

“We see that Albena is a wonderful resort, but sadly, we cannot say the same about our resort, Golden Sands,” said Nina Yordanova of the Union of Golden Sands Hoteliers.

Deputy Tourism Minister Irena Georgieva stressed that the personnel shortage in the Bulgarian tourist sector remains a major problem. “It is not so much about importing workers from third countries as training Bulgarian skilled personnel,” she argued.

Desislav Taskov, the Tourism Committee Chair, told journalists that expectations for the tourist summer are optimistic. He recalled that a large meeting with over 200 German tour operators was held a few weeks ago. “We can safely say that German tourists are returning to Bulgaria, and the percentages are considerable,” Taskov said. Bulgaria’s two main seaside airports, Burgas and Varna, have seen a sharp increase in air traffic, with their operating capacities being used at 70% and 60%, respectively, he said.

The personnel shortage is one of the main challenges, Taskov noted. “On the one hand, there are difficulties in issuing visas to foreign workers, and on the other hand, there are not enough skilled Bulgarians to work in the resorts.” According to the MP, infrastructure, including the condition of roads, remains a top concern along the northern stretch of the Bulgarian coastline.

In addition to the above-named speakers, the meeting was attended by Deputy Tourism Minister Pavlin Petrov, National Assembly Secretary Iliyana Naidenova, MPs Erten Anisova, Maya Dimitrova and Petya Tsankova, the last of them serving as Deputy Chair of the Education Committee, representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, interim Dobrich Regional Governor Zhivko Zhelyazkov, Varna Regional Governor Andriana Andreeva, Dobrich Municipality Deputy Mayor Pavel Pavlov and members of sectoral organizations, the business community and local authorities.