News Articles about Bulgaria
Airport in Bulgaria's Plovdiv Modernized for BGN 40 Million
25th August 2008, Monday
Novinite.com
About BGN 40 M will be invested in the modernization of the airport in Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv.
The news was announced Monday by the Bulgarian Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev after a meeting of the governing board of the state owned airport company.
The Plovdiv Airport, which serves as an alternative to the Airport in Sofia, will also be equipped with a blind landing system.
Modernization package includes the construction of a new terminal at the Plovdiv Airport, which will cost about BGN 38 M. Of there BGN 18 M will be provided by Alpha Finance Holding, which owns 58,08% of the airport, and the rest will come from the state budget.
According to Mutafchiev, the project must be completed before the end of the term of the present government, i.e. by the summer of 2009. After that the Plovidv Airport will be awarded a higher class.
Ancient Thrace Capital to Be Drawn out of Water Reservoir for EUR 100 M
Novinite.com
6th August 2008, Wednesday
The project to draw Sevtopolis, the capital city of Ancient Thrace, out of the waters of the Koprinka Reservior in central Bulgaria, and turn it into a top tourist destination, has been estimated to cost EUR 100 M.
Sevtopolis is currently located at a depth of about 20 meters on the bottom of the reservoir but has been found to be in an excellent condition.
According to the project recently put forth by the Mayor of the nearby city of Kazanluk Stefan Damyanov and Bulgaria's Culture Ministry, a wall will be built around the ancient city so as to separate to keep away from it the water of the reservoir, and to create an artificial island there, which will be opened for tourists.
Bulgaria's Ministry of Culture has already set up an 18-member working group to set up the procedure for attracting foreign engineering companies to draw Sevtopolis out of the reservoir. Several investors from the Netherlands, Greece, and Kuwait have already expressed their interest in participating.
The working group must be ready with a plan for completing the project by September 30.
According to the project of architect Zheko Tilev, about 2% of the total area of the Koprinka Reservoir will be dried out in order to create the artificial island, which will be located below the water level. The circle wall around the ancient city will have a diameter of 420 meter and a perimeter of 1300 m.
The capital of the Thracian monarch Sevt III was first discovered in explored in 1948-54 before the Koprinka Reservoir was built on top of it. The construction proceeded despite the invaluable architectural monument.
According to the National Union "Preserve the Bulgarian", the ancient city will be visited by at least 500 000 tourists during the first year after its opening.
The Kazanluk region is already attracting thousands of tourists with its Valley of Thracian Kings and Valley of Roses. The local people are really hopeful about the drawing of Sevtopolis out of the water, and the turning it into a tourist destination.
Seuthopolis Project - Koprinka Dam
Golf project in Banya, near Karlovo.
According to Hristo Kovachki, local investor and businessman, 60 million euro will be the cost of the construction, scheduled to begin on April 1. The existing Banya sports complex and infrastructure will be renovated and the buildings will be overhauled. The first stage of the project is the development of the spa center. The next stage of Banya spa and golf resort includes the construction of the golf course and the hotel and village complex.
At the present time there are three operating golf courses in Bulgaria. Because of the growing foreign investments and the interest in holiday properties, several golf complexes are planed and some of them are under construction.
Bulgaria Prepares Golf Development Strategy
13 February 2008, Wednesday
Novinite Sofia News Agency
Bulgaria's golf development strategy will be ready by the end of March, Regional Development Minister Assen Gagauzov announced on Wednesday.
The minister said that the strategy would mark the path for development of the profitable sport, which is still quite unpopular in the country.
Bulgaria's cabinet announced last week it is going to set up a state-owned company to develop and operate golf courses, as the idea had been put forth by Gagauzov.
Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev later put on hold the controversial project "until a full-scale strategy for the tourist sector" was prepared.
Experts point out that Bulgaria is set to prosper from golf tourism, given the success of Spanish and Portuguese golf developments.
World Superstars Boost Sofia Property Prices
13 February 2008, Wednesday
Novinite Sofia News Agency
By British real estate consultant Obelisk
Obelisk says Sofia property investments are attracting the attention of Hollywood celebrities and pop icons, prompting the emergence of a new luxury market.
Cheap holidays, cheap skiing, cheap flights, cheap food and drink, and of course cheap property - ‘Cheap' has been the main attraction for British investors buying into Bulgaria.
However, big changes are in the air with an increasing number of foreign investors and Hollywood A-listers buying up the more exclusive high-end property.
Antonio Banderas, who already owns property in Spain, is amongst "Hollywood royalty" spending many months in the capital filming The Code, due for release this year, along with Morgan Freeman who has revealed his interest in purchasing a block of executive apartments in Sofia.
The newly renovated film studio in Sofia has created a house-hunting frenzy from top filmmakers and celebrities. Nu Image has strategically snapped up the previously state-run film studio in Sofia for US$9.2 million in a bid to cut massive production costs that the company faces in the US.
Rock legend Lenny Kravitz has also put Sofia firmly on the superstar map. The "Get on the Bus with the Love Revolution" tour will descend on Sofia's Akademik Stadium on 27th July 2008. Huge interest for the £15 tickets has been created, with international fans taking advantage of a cut-price city break. Pink is also due to hit the city in July along with Marilyn Manson, Michael Bolton, and Vanessa Mae.
Sofia is home to the majority of the country's 200,000 millionaires with many ready to pay over €3,000 per sq. m. for a city centre complex. The rich list is prepared to buy an entire floor for 2000 sq. m of complete exclusivity with the added bonus of a specially commissioned ramp for sports cars such as Ferrari and Lamborghini in the underground car park.
Overseas property writer, Zoe Dare Hall, suggests that British property investors, who make up 67% of all foreign buyers in Bulgaria, are missing out on hugely bullish Sofia property investments.
The need for larger, more luxurious properties in prime city, beach and ski locations dictates the market evolution. Additionally, rising demand is originating from foreigners working for the big multinationals in Sofia and from Bulgaria's emerging middle to high classes, for properties within commuting distance of the capital.
James Gonzalez, Market Analyst at Obelisk comments, "Luxury properties are still within an affordable range for many overseas buyers, compared with more traditional markets (such as Spain or Portugal). A luxury apartment in Sofia's commuter belt averages around £100,000 - you would be hard pressed to find a good apartment in the Costa del Sol for that price."
The growing demand for top-end properties is prompting developers to raise the quality levels of new properties, with a number of developments now offering well-executed design and superior build qualities. Generally, property prices have remained very competitive.
Sofia is an excellent commuter base with budget airlines, such as Wizz air, servicing routes all across Europe. The airline will also be offering internal flights to the town of Kavarna - known as the ‘Rock Capital of the Balkans', with headline acts such as Motorhead, Led Zeppelin's front man Robert Plant and musicians from Black Sabbath, all kicking off the Kaliakra Rock Fest in July.
The country is also upgrading ski facilities including a £345 million Super Borovets project - a major development in the country's most popular ski resort. Spa tourism is also on the up and steering the market further towards the more upmarket investors and holidaymakers.
"Since Bulgaria's EU accession foreign buyers' confidence in the country has grown immensely. British buyers, who still believe Bulgaria to be a destination for low end investment rather than a second home or luxury rental investment, need to revisit the market."
"With the rising demand and the low supply of quality new builds, British overseas property investors need to look at why the rest of Europe views Bulgaria, and in particular Sofia property investment, so differently."
Obelisk strongly recommends that investors should do their research before embarking on an overseas property purchase.
Sterling hits all-time low vs euro
Wed Jan 2, 2008 3:58pm GMT
http://uk.reuters.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling hit a fresh all-time low versus the euro on Wednesday and reached its lowest in over four years on a trade-weighted basis as investors anticipated lower interest rates to come.
Sterling has fallen steadily versus the euro since September and a unanimous vote to cut rates to 5.5 percent at the Bank of England's December meeting has increased investor certainty that rates are set to fall further in the near future.
"The background to the fall is relative investor pessimism on the UK versus the euro zone," said Steven Pearson, chief currency strategist at Bank of Scotland Treasury Services.
"There's a cyclical divergence with the UK seen as cutting rates while the ECB is almost set to sit this cycle (of lowering interest rates) out so the UK is decoupling with the euro zone and coupling with the U.S."
By 10:01 a.m., the euro had touched a fresh all-time high at 74.19 pence and was last trading at 74.11 pence, up 0.9 percent on the day. The pound was down 0.35 percent versus the dollar at $1.9791.
On a trade-weighted basis, the pound touched its lowest level since late 2003 at 97.2.
In a further sign the UK economy is facing stiff headwinds, manufacturing activity eased in December with the rise in new orders falling to its weakest in almost two years.
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply/NTC said its purchasing managers' index fell to 52.9 in December, below the consensus forecast of 53.6.
Investors will look to the UK Land Registry house price index for November on Thursday for further clues to gauge the extent of Britain's housing slowdown.
(Reporting by Simon Falush, editing by Mike Peacock)
Bulgaria Gives Go-Ahead to 3-Tier Super Borovets Project
novinite.com 09.10.2007
A mega-project, dubbed Super Borovets, in the Rila mountain, was given the final go-ahead with a ground-breaking ceremony on Monday after years of controversies and opposition from environmentalists.
The enormous complex will encompass the towns of Samokov and Beli Iskar and will expand one of Bulgaria's most popular skiing place Borovets resort.
The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, former king and former Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg, as well as Oman's Sultan and Prime Minister Qaboos bin Said al-Said, who is one of the main investors in the project.
The first level in the project, the so called "Low Borovets", will be situated at 1100 m above the sea level, 6 km away from the town of Samokov. The second tier will cover the nowadays Borovets resort situated at 1300-1350 m above the sea level . The third level "Super Borovets" will accommodate those tourists who are looking for the luxury and will be located at 1600-1800 m above the sea level.
Rila-Samokov 2004 AD, the company that will implement the project and owns 2 mln sq m of land in the Borovets mountain area, plans to invest EUR 500 M over the next few years.
The mega-resort is projected to sport nineteen new ski tracks with a joint length of 42 kilometres and the accompanying infrastructure, lifts with capacity for 37,000 tourists, ski facilities, hotels on a built-up area of 100,000 sq m and around 400,000 sq m or no more than 4,000 units of vacation homes.
The project was launched in 2004 on the back of strong support by the centrist government of former king Simeon Saxe-Coburg and amid allegations of vested interests.
Top banker Emil Kyulev, who was murdered in broad daylight in October 2005, owned a 51% stake in the project. Kyulev's death shook up the line-up of the share-holders with investment fund Equest Investment Balkan acquiring a 67% stake in Borovest developer Rila-Samokov 2004 AD.
27 of a total of 29 from the twice revised protected areas are accepted in their complete boundaries in the eco-network NATURA 2000 on a session of National Council of Biological Diversity.
The council did not agree with the suggestion of State Agency of Forests for decrease and rejection of territories from NATURA.
The council also rejected another suggestion of the Forest Agency for decreasing the area of 19 zones.
The decision for two specific territories Central Balkan - buffer and Rila - buffer was delayed for the next session of the council at the beginning of October, informed the chairman of the council vice minister Dardov.
The two buffer zones will be revised again together with the delayed from March, this year, 26 areas by the bird directive and 16 zones - for local habitation.
From Bulgarian Academy of Science promised that until September 25 in the Environmental Ministry will be entered the Academy's statement about all the protected areas.
Eco activists are pleased by the made decisions, they consider it as a success, even a partial one.
Romania and Bulgaria are in the list of countries, in which is possible to occur overheat of property market in middle term, said Romanian media, citing report of ‘UniCredit'.
Specialists paid attention that in spite of that in Central and Eastern Europe are not foreseen serious shaking of property market, risks are obviously raising.
‘Precaution macroeconomics policy and detailed monitoring on credits are quite important for averting vastly diversions from the stable development, was also said in the report.
Author: international.news.bg - 14 sept. 2007
House Prices in Bulgaria "Set to Rocket"
easier.com
House prices in Bulgaria have risen by 27% in the past 12 months and are set to rocket further, according to the latest issue of Quest Bulgaria magazine.
The September issue of the magazine says the latest forecast shows price increases of 20% this year. A steady stream of investors has made sure the Bulgarian property market is maintaining it's dynamic position. The country's National Statistics authority says that prices rose 15% in the first six months of 2007 with a 27% increase in the past year. And Address Real Estate, the country's largest agency, forecast a further increase of 10-15% for the rest of the year.
The cheapest homes, said Chris Goodall, managing director of Quest Bulgaria, are in the region around Sofia where prices are £152 ($306) per square meter - well behind the national average of £347 ($700) per square meter. "This makes the area round Sofia a good bet for investment," said Goodall. "Demand is moving away from the beach toward both urban and rural properties and is being driven by four factors: the level of foreign investment; the emerging Bulgarian middle classes who want modern apartments; increasing local affluence; and the supply of capital from mortgages.
"Those buying property in the countryside are buying attractive village homes. Most of them are foreigners, in general early retirees and families who want to own property and enjoy the low cost of living, along with affluent Bulgarians from Sofia and other cities who are looking for weekend or holiday homes in the best rural areas." One of the biggest factors affecting affordability is the availability of mortgages and home loans. The Credit Centre, a loans consultancy, says that home loans this year are up by 25% with June mortgage lending outpacing even the historically high December loans.
Bulgaria's soaring property prices, says Quest Bulgaria, follow the pattern of what has traditionally occurred in other countries following EU accession. But despite this, they remain up to 40% lower than Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
So where are the hot spots?
Quest Bulgaria says that Sofia is still good - but be wary were you buy in the city; the countryside, in and near the prettiest villages; spa towns for the tourism potential; and Varna, the most western European city in Bulgaria. It warns that Bansko is going down in value with too much development and parts of the coastal belt where there is also over development. But, says Goodall, the top tip for home buyers is to invest in a period property in protected areas such as museum towns and villages.
Golf and Spa Project for the Town of Bania
03.09.2007
In the last years several municipalities in Bulgaria have chosen the public-private partnership, mainly for big projects in the areas of tourism, sports and entertainment.
The latest such project is for the town of Bania. Bania is in the region of Karlovo and has been given a town status in 2003. Due to the presence of mineral springs and a sanatorium the area is also known as the “Baths of Karlovo”. In the northern end of Bania is located the so called “Tsar’s Villa” built by King Boris III in 1929. Among the other local landmarks are the sports center with a stadium, fields, pools as well as the wine cellar “The Rose Valley”.
Almost for a year already the Karlovo’s municipal council is collecting proposals for the development of Bania in order to make better use of the mineral springs. The municipality is planning to enter a mixed association with lands priced at 13 million levas. These lands include the town’s park, the local sports center and about 400 dekares of municipal plots offering opportunities for the development of golf and spa tourism. On July 10 the municipal council will select the investor for the project. The investor will participate with 25 million levas to be used for the restoration of the parks, the sport’s center and the infrastructure of Bania as well as partially for the golf and spa project. However, the project will require additional private financing. The municipality is planning on maintaining a 34% share in the mixed association.
So far the municipal council has several offers to consider. The first one belongs to the association “Bania Golf and Spa Resort” whose shareholders are people involved with the tourist and hotel business. “Bania Golf and Spa Resort” is offering to build a golf course and a spa village with entertainment centers for 60 million levas. There is also an offer from “Rose Valley Investment”, which is focused on the development of spa tourism. The third offer comes from a businessman from Dolna Bania. The municipality, according to Karlovo’s mayor, is looking to find an investor who will contribute for the development of the entire region.
60 MILLION EURO TO BE INVESTED IN GOLF COURSE CONSTRUCTION NEAR BULGARIA'S BANYA
Sofiaecho.com - Thu 05 Jul 2007
Karlovo municipality and Banya Golf and Spa Resort will discuss the opportunity for developing the town of Banya as a resort.
The municipality council and the investor will discuss the possibility for a public-private partnership, Focus news agency reported.
Investment will reach 60 million euro for the period of several years.
The company to be created will have 34 per cent municipality ownership and 66 per cent shareholding of the private investor.
Municipality ownership has been already evaluated at 12.6 million leva and the investor has to join the company with 25 million leva.
As part of the project, Banya's sports base will be renovated, and a golf course with a hotel complex will be constructed.
Banya Golf and Spa Resort is Bulgarian company. The municipality's requirements towards the investor include guaranteeing the development of sports for youth in the region.
21.05.07
The big projects will revive the region of Karlovo. The strategy for economic development for the period 2007 - 2013. The municipality is situated in the middle part of Bulgaria and the northern part of Plovdiv region. Last week was presented the strategy for economic development of the community for the period 2007 - 2013 in the framework of a public discussion. The main goal of the discussion was to present the priorities for sustainable development of the town. Tourism sustainable development, energy efficiency and renewable sources, ecologic problems are some of the key issues. The authors of the strategy suggest two stages in the development of the town. During the first stage - 2007 - 2010, should be transformed the municipal economy with investments in high-tech and perspective production, building of micro-, small and medium enterprises, improvement of the public finances management and raising the administrative capacity. One of the major projects in the programme is Troyan - Karnare tunnel under Stara Planina worth EUR 250m, reconstruction of the main pedestrian area of Karlovo, overhaul of the municipal road network for BGN 6m, reconstruction of the entrance and exit thoroughfares for BGN 350,000 by 2010, industrial park in Karlovo for BGN 1m - by 2009, new public bus station by a public-private partnership, new sports hall in the town, etc.
Bulgaria Could be Europe's Next Golfing "Hotspot"
Novinite Sofia news agency
28 April 2007, Saturday
Real estate developers in Bulgaria have already woken up to the massive pulling power of top quality golf courses, experts say.
"Five signature courses - from the likes of Ian Woosnam, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player - are planned," says Chris Goodall from English language magazine Quest Bulgaria.
"Developers here have recognised that by setting a course in an excellent location and combining it with additional quality attractions such as spas, wellness centres, horse riding, tennis and so on, gives year-round appeal. Golf is offering buyers the opportunity to buy top real estate not linked specifically to sea or ski."
With global golf tourism worth over GBP 10 B, Bulgaria has 12 new 18-hole courses in development or underway, with five due for completion by 2008. Of these five courses, 30% of the 2,300 residential units across them have already been sold.
Experts point out that Bulgaria is set to prosper from its all-new putting greens, given the success of Spanish and Portuguese golf developments and with low cost airlines further spurring golf development.
By 2020 nearly every third visitor to Europe will choose a central or Eastern European destination, according to the World Tourism Organisation.
50 MILLION EUROS WILL MAKE THE ROSE VALLEY A TOURIST HEAVEN
Newspaper 24 Hours – 03.03.07
(Translated from this Bulgarian Newspaper)
Between 50 and 100 million euros will be poured into development for tourism in the Rose Valley in the next years. The manager of the Kingdom Winery in Banya called Branimir Botev is making a project together with Austrian business man Michael Unger. ‘The Rose valley is ideal for development of tourism in any aspect, historical, cultural, spa, wine and eco’ said Mr Botev. The authors soon will present the ideas to the Bulgarian and Austrian governments. The financing of the project will come from European investors. Specialists in tourism from the Austrian community Vildchenau visited the Rose Valley last week to gather information on the possibilities for development of tourism. They visited Kazanluk, Karlovo, and Banya which is a resort of national range. In the project will be included the communities of Pavel Banya, Sopot and Hissar.
ITALIANS AND RUSSIANS POUR MILLIONS IN HISSARYA
Standart News.com - 30th January 2007
"Italians and Russians businessmen ready to invest millions in constructions of hotels in the town of Hissarya", said the Mayor of the town, Valko Makaveev.
The Hissarya resort is located in the middle of Bulgaria and although its well-know reputation for a wonderful SPA resort, it is the first time that the healing power of its mineral springs arouse such a great interest in foreign investors.
"Businessmen from England, the USA and Israel also intend to invest in SPA hotels and complexes in Hissarya" adds the Mayor Makaveev further.
Five new hotels are being built at the moment and construction licences for another eight hotels have been issued.
"Hissarya Municipality is not the owner of large plots of land, that's way foreign companies buy directly from the local owners. Only in 2006, 30 ha of land were sold to foreign companies", adds Mayor Makaveev.
Kostadin Arshinkov
IRISH LOW-FARE AIRLINE STEPS IN BULGARIA
NOVINITE.COM - 14th December 2006
Irish low fares airline Ryanair is preparing to open destinations to Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv.
The company, headquartered in Dublin, will connect the southern Bulgarian city with airports in the UK, Spain and Germany, following the densest Bulgarian emigrant populaces in Europe.
Sofia Airport is also negotiating with Ryanair, as well as with British no-frills airline EasyJet, according to local press reports.
Ryanair is one of Europe's largest low-cost carriers and one of Europe's most successful airlines, operating on 362 routes to 22 countries. Ryanair has been characterized by rapid expansion, a result of the deregulation of the air industry in Europe in 1997.
In 2002 Ryanair launched 26 new routes and established a hub in Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.
In 2003, Ryanair announced the order of a further 100 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft from Boeing, and in February a third continental base was opened at Milan-Bergamo in Italy.
Currently Ryanair operates 12 European hubs, another ten new hubs they intend to establish over the next seven years.
BULGARIA DROPS VISAS FOR AMERICANS AND BRITONS
novinite.com - 3rd August 2006
Americans, Britons, as well as nationals from another eleven nations holding valid passports will enter Bulgaria without visas, the cabinet decided Thursday.
According to the adopted amendments foreigners will be allowed to stay in Bulgaria for 90 days within a period of six months, reckoned from the date of the first entry.
As the government is aligning Bulgaria's visa regime with EU standards, visas will be dropped for the citizens of North Ireland, Canada, Australia, and Mexico.
The same rules will apply for the residents of Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Salvador, New Zealand, and Guatemala, who will be allowed to enter and stay in Bulgaria solely upon a valid passport.
The decree will take effect from September 1.
The Government also approved a set of proposals to amend the Visa Agreement with Turkey. Turkish citizens could stay 90 days with a single or multiple transit visas. Until now they were allowed to enter the country for 30 days upon invitation.
In a separate development the government decided that Bulgarians will be allowed a free-visa entry into Israel.
OLDEST THRACIAN TOWN DISCOVERED
Standartnews.com - Sunday, 9 July 2006
Sensational archeological finding near the village of Vassil Levski, Karlovo region, central Bulgaria is expected to attract thousands of tourists. "The oldest Thracian city with a large royal residence dating back to over 2500 ago was discovered," said archeologist Kostadin Kissiov. He is the leader of the excavation works with the Museum of Archeology in Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv. We started a year ago but it is now that our efforts were rewarded with a finding that has no match, Kissiov thinks. He dates the site to the 5th century BC. It spreads on the vast for its time area of 2.5 ha. This is the oldest Thracian settlement ever found. The other similar town is Sevtopolis that is now on the bottom of Koprinka dam, at five kilometers from the town of Kazanlak, central Bulgaria. The royal residence is of monumental size and is tile-roofed like no other of the Thracian buildings discovered so far. Fine Thracian and Greek pottery has been found that evidences for the ruler's contacts. The whole residence is still to be unearthed that will probably show who the ruler was. "Unfortunately only a small part of the ancient settlement will be unearthed because it lies in private property," Kissiov explains. Besides there is no money for developing the site. Funds are raised only through private sponsors despite the long-submitted conservation project in the Culture Ministry.
Eli Kumanova
DISCOVERERS OF THRACIAN VILLAGE IN BULGARIA APPLY FOR STATE FINANCING
Sofiaecho.com - 11:31 Mon 10 Jul 2006
The archaeologists who recently discovered a Thracian village applied for state financing for the excavations, planning to make the village a cultural tourism destination.
The project already received funds from several private companies and from Plovdiv municipality, Focus news agency reported.
The money would be needed for the conservation of the remains and the construction of a shelter, Konstantin Kisyov, head of the Plovdiv Archaeological Museum and leader of the archaeological team, said.
The new site was situated near the road from Sofia to Kazanluk and could easily be included in cultural tour packages, Kisyov said.
Archaeologists re-covered a fortress stone wall, the foundations of the king's palace and unique decorated gilt tiles. The utensils used for import of Mediterranean wine proved that the king had sufficient political and economical power to trade with the Greek cities.
All the remains date to fifth century BC.
SPA TOURISM POTENTIAL HIKES PROPERTY PRICES IN BULGARIAN RESORTS
Sofia Echo.com - 09:52 Thu 08 Jun 2006
Growing interest in the construction of spa centres resulted in increased real estate prices in some popular Bulgarian spa resorts.
Spa tourism remains relatively undeveloped but has considerable growth potential, 24 Chassa reported. At present the most profitable investment was buying hotel in a spa region, the newspaper said.
According to imot.bg, Velingrad was the town with highest spa hotel development potential. The town offers over 20 hotels at an average price of 675 euro a sq m. Buildings in need of additional repair work are usually sold for 250 euro a sq m. Pomorie offers the most inexpensive hotels with average prices around 600 euro a sq m.
Apart from hotels, investors show interest in purchasing old houses later renovated into small but high-quality spa centres. The town of Hisarya offers nearly 40 houses suitable for these purposes at prices of 312 euro a sq m. In comparison, a similar house in Velingrad would cost432 euro a sq m, 24 Chassa reported.
Despite their popularity as spa centres, the towns of Sandanski and Pavel Banya offer little for investors interested in hotel construction. The houses for sale need considerable repair work. Prices vary between 496 and 172 euro a sq m.
HISTORY AND SPA IN THE TOWN OF HISSAR
09:00 Mon 12 Jun 2006 - Petar Kostadinov
www.sofiaecho.com/article/history-and-spa-in-the-town-of-hissar/id_15796/catid_70/
ROSE OIL FLIES IN SPACE
Standart News - Monday, 20 February 2006
Yuliana Uzanicheva
US space shuttles are lubricated with Bulgarian rose oil
American shuttles are lubricated with rose oil, produced in Bulgaria
Whenever you plant a rose, it will grow. The land simply loves roses, says Georgi Antonov. For about four years now he and his wife grow roses in Karlovo (central Bulgaria). They are not the only ones from Karlovo who have returned to the traditional local business. The aromatic oil that is extracted from the flowers is more expensive than gold. Foreigners are ready to pay 10 euro per a gram and buy it out before even the blossoming has started.
"We get up at four every morning and by ten we have to have finished picking up the roses. The oil gets to the roots later in the day," Georgi says. This rhythm is kept for twenty or twenty five days, depending on amount of rain that has fallen. The more rain, the longer it takes to pick up the roses. A kilo of roses costs 1.50 or 2 levs (1 euro = 1.95 levs).
A few years ago the weeds in the fields were more than the rose bushes. Now in Karlovo region over 600 ha of new roses have been planted. A 0.1 ha yields average 500 and 1000kg of rose blossom per season. To have a richer harvest, roses need tending all over the year, according to Georgi.
Traders from Spain, France, German and the USA have keenest interest in Bulgarian rose oil. While the Europeans buy it for cosmetic purposes mostly, the Americans use the rose oil as a lubricant. All space shuttles and space ships are lubricated with rose oil because it is resistant to all temperatures.
From 2500 to 3200 kg of roses are need to make a kilo of rose oil.
