site.btaBulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association Presents Annual Awards

The Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (BHRA) presented its annual awards for professional achievements in the field of tourism at an official ceremony on Tuesday, attended by Vice President Iliana Iotova, deputy ministers, former line ministers and other official guests.

For the 29th time, the BHRA is rewarding excellence in the hotel and restaurant industry, and the awards are divided into several categories, including the best hotels in various categories, restaurants, managers, attractions, event organizers, companies, events, cooperation with institutions and partners. The statuettes and certificates of the winners were presented by official guests, BHRA representatives and long-standing partners of the organization.

BHRA is the first professional organization in tourism to present awards since 1996. The BHRA annual awards honour the best in the tourism sector for the past year.
BTA was a media partner of the forum, and the Agency's Deputy Director General Evgenia Drumeva presented the award in the category Best Four-Star SPA Hotel of 2024 to the Five Elements SPA Hotel, Sapareva Banya.

The five-star winners of the hospitality awards included the Hotel Emporium, Plovdiv; Hotel Admiral, Golden Sands resort; Hotel Blu Bay, Sozopol; GoldenEye Hotel & Casino, Kapitan Andreevo village; Arte SPA & Park Hotel, Velingrad; Spa Hotel Santé, Velingrad; Grand Hotel Knyaz Pavel, Pavel Banya; Diana Mar Balneotherapy Hotel, Pavel Banya;  Casa di Fiore Spa and Medical Hotel, Kranevo; Grand Hotel Velingrad, Velingrad; ECO Therma Village Hotel, Kranevo; Kashmir Wellness & Spa Hotel, Velingrad.

The four-star winners included: Hotel National Palace, Sliven; Park and Spa Hotel Markovo, Markovo village;  Spa Hotel Olymp, Velingrad; Diplomat Plaza Hotel and Resort, Lukovit; Landmark Creek Hotel, Plovdiv;  Best Western Premier Sofia Airport Hotel, Sofia; Viva Mare Beach Hotel, Sozopol; Hotel Astoria, Golden Sands resort; Spa Resort St. Ivan Rilski, Bansko; Aparthotel Old Town, Zlatograd.

The Business Club Family Hotel in Shumen was awarded in the category "Best Family Hotel of 2024".

The winners in the restaurant category included: the CAPTAIN COOK restaurant chain;  the HAPPY BAR & GRILL restaurant chain; the Boca Grande restaurant, Sozopol; the Burrata Italiana restaurant chain; the Mavruda Secret Garden restaurant, Plovdiv; Lebeda restaurant, Dimitrovgrad; restaurant-club Goya, Pazardzhik; Paesano Gourmet Pizza, Sofia.

Arte Spa & Park Hotel and Kashmir Spa Hotel, Velingrad were awarded in the category Best Management Team of 2024.

The Dr. Cheshmedzhievi Medical Centre Medical-Aesthetic Centre in Velingrad was awarded Best Balneological / Medical SPA / Centre of 2024.
Aquapark Sofia was awarded in the category Best AQUAPARK of 2024.

The Ancient city of Heraclea Sintica, Petrich Municipality, received an award for most attractive cultural and historical site of 2024. Kyustendil Municipality was awarded as the fastest developing tourist destination of 2024. The Zlaten Rozhen Retro Car Museum won best tourist attraction of 2024.

Several individials received jubilee plaques, including BHRA Chair Georgi Shterev, for outstanding contribution to Bulgarian tourism and on the occasion of his 60th birthday.

The Ministry of Tourism was awarded for the best partnership and support in 2024. Partnership awards were received by MusicAutor, PROPHON, the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria, the Association of Schools of Restaurant and Hotel Management in Bulgaria, Philip Morris Bulgaria, A1, Grand Hotel Millennium - Sofia, METRO Bulgaria and PEPSI Bulgaria, BC Gorna Banya, Perilis Trading, Black Sea Gold, Pomorie.

Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio and the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) were awarded the best media partnership in 2024. The award to BTA was received by BTA Deputy Director General Evgeniya Drumeva, who noted that BTA is receiving this award for the third time. 

"They say that something that is repeated three times speaks of consistency," noted Drumeva and added that BTA consistently covers what is happening in Bulgarian tourism. Thanks to its partnership with BHRA, as well as BTA's reporters and correspondents in the country and abroad, almost every day BTA broadcasts feature news related to tourism, the Deputy Director General pointed out. Drumeva noted that BTA covers the news with the names of the companies and brands, and a large part of them are translated into English and sent to BTA partners from other national agencies.