site.btaBusinesses, Institutions Discuss Improving Bulgarian Tourism

Violations in tour operator and travel agency activities are decreasing, but sporadic single violations continue to be observed, said Ignat Arsenov, Director of the Market Control Directorate at the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) during a discussion on Monday on the topic "How to eliminate the gray sector in Bulgaria", organized by the CPC and the Bulgarian Association of Travel Agencies (BATA) within the framework of the Holiday & SPA Expo international tourism business exhibition, which started on Sunday at the Inter Expo Centre.

Arsenov said that the CPC's goal is to ensure that the offered tourist services meet the legal requirements, and this is done not only through fines and sanctions, but also by supporting businesses through relevant clarifications useful for business circles.

He reported that the CPC's experience shows that unregulated practices of companies are mainly related to yoga, dance, fitness and other similar courses, which, along with this activity, try to organize package holidays without being registered as tour operators. Asenov pointed out that such illegal activities are difficult to prove in court.

CPS Chair Maria Filipova stated that only through dialogue with the industry can the common goal of sustainability and transparency, security and consumer protection in the provision of tourist services by tour operators and travel agents on the territory of Bulgaria be achieved. She announced that a mobile application will soon be available that will allow for reporting irregularities to the CPC via phone, and there will be traceability of the administrative progress on each signal.

A representative of a tour operator company operating in the Bulgarian and Danish markets pointed out that problems in the Bulgarian legislative framework, which reduce the competitiveness of Bulgarian companies compared to their European counterparts, include complicated bureaucratic procedures related to the conclusion of contracts. According to the industry, the Bulgarian Tourism Act is outdated and "analog", and 95% of tourist reservations are made online.

The CPC Chair indicated that the Commission implements the law as it is currently in force. At the same time, she pointed out that there are numerous complaints from citizens from tourist companies regarding the method of accommodation, flight cancellations, and the replacement of additional services with others, although they have already been paid for by tourists. "At the moment, however, your attitude towards customers, in a very large part, is more than outrageous. The Bulgarian customer still does not want a few clicks, but wants a personal attitude, to be briefed on what the basic and additional packages include, and the problem arises when you often make individual decisions for which the consumers state that they did not give consent," Filipova addressed business representatives participating in the discussion.

BATA Chair Odisei Spasov said that the work of the Mystery Shopper programme will resume with the partnership of the CPC and the industry organizations. He appealed to the industry to send signals about unregulated activity to the relevant industry organization, which will immediately forward them to the CPC.

Eleonora Mladenova, a representative of the Ministry of Tourism, said that a new Tourism Act will be drafted. She indicated that the department is open to proposals from the industry.