This article in the Wall Street Journal accurately portrays the shortcomings of Bulgarian tourism: the bad condition of the roads, the need for more experienced, multilingual service workers, the high concentration of hotels at some sea resorts and the lack of hotels and facilities in wonderful places that should be getting a lot of tourist but currently aren’t. Indeed, Bulgaria is still considered mainly a budget travel destination for European college students and adventurers. Still, it has some very luxurious resorts and hotels for the lovers of spa centers, golf courses, yachts and high-end shopping.
What WSJ omits to mention is that Bulgaria has incredible perspectives. The small country has incredible mineral water and spa resorts, ski and snowboard resorts, hiking trails, wide sandy beaches with good conditions for various water sports, rivers for exciting kayaking, horseback riding in lush valleys and more. The Bulgarian territory was home to some of the oldest European civilizations, the Ottomans, the Byzantines, the Romans, and the Thracians, so it offers a multitude of architectural and archeological landmarks and historical sites. The cultural and folklore festivals, the cuisine, and the wineries can make many foreign tourist attractions fade away.
Bulgaria might have a bad image because of its communist past, but it has a bright future as a major tourist destination for visitors from all over the world.
Zikata's Blog 
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August 19, 2010 at 5:33 am
Katley
I think part of the reason that the average American doesn’t visit Bulgaria is that people are afraid of what they know little about, and they stick to countries that they are comfortable with, like France and Spain. Many Americans don’t even set foot outside the United States! Here is a list of the foreign countries Americans visit the most:
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-29848550
Several of my friends from folk dancing have visited Bulgaria recently. They were totally impressed by the beauty of the country, and enjoyed the folklore in its native environment. They told me if I had the chance I should see it for myself.
If I get to Europe again, Bulgaria will be on my list…for sure 🙂 I love to visit places off the tourist path and have a sense of adventure.
My husband and I did quite a bit of travel in Germany and other Western European countries, and did it for the most part independently. The best places that we visited were those where people spoke little or no English 🙂
Too bad we never made it to Bulgaria, but during that time the Communists were in power.
August 20, 2010 at 12:22 am
Timmy
I feel that a 9 minute video should have included more emphasis on the non-beach resorts, and they should have grabbed a better vocalist on the video. She did not sound Bulgarian, and I feel like they completely blew off the macedonian region which is too bad
August 20, 2010 at 2:50 am
zikata
Last summer, my family and I were driving between the Rhozen monastery (from my post on the Babies’ Baptism) and Kapatovo village, when we saw a Japanese hikers couple. We gave them a ride, and they explained to us that this was their fifth or sixth time visiting Bulgaria because of the beautiful Rila mountain, the mineral waters in the region, and so on. The had even started something like a Japanese club of Bulgaria hiking trails’ fans.
This time when we were in Rhozen, we met Spanish and German tourists.
So i agree that it takes a certain kind of people to visit our country. It isn’t a mainstream destination, but a place for people who cherish nature, relaxation, and adventure. The beaches and the modern resorts, on the other hand, are like Ibiza on the Balkans 🙂
As far as the promo video Timmy, the BG-GB accent is really strange, but still better than mine 🙂 How does one write a post on funny accents?
August 20, 2010 at 5:11 am
Katley
The promo video had too much emphasis on beaches and nightlife and the narrator was putting me to sleep. There are some really good videos on YouTube on Bulgarian tourism, here is a German one which was beautifully done. It’s called Bulgaria in 8 MInutes. Great soundtrack, too!
After watching this video, I am ready to pack my bags 🙂
August 20, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Jonathan Hill
I think Bulgaria has an amazing environment, monuments, museums and much more to offer than just night life. If you ever visit Bulgaria, I recommend from personal experience, hire a car and travel to the Rilla Monastery or visit the Old town in Plovdiv as well as Bourgas and Varna. When I was there, I rented from Teodor Tours and I was pleasently surprised by the cheap prices and the high quality of the service, so I really do recommend it to people. Their website is: http://rentacar-tt.com/home-en.php . If you can’t find hotels or motels I recommend the Holiday Inn because if you intend to travel it can be booked quick and easily.
Hope I’ve been of some help and guys – you should really visit Bulgaria, it’s an extraordinary place indeed!
December 16, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Darren Kearney
Great blog, Bulgaria has something for everybody and I feel that there are nowhere near enough people aware of this, I have been trying to promote Bulgaria in the form of 3 night holidays from the UK and I am just starting to break through and receiving interest for early 2013.