site.btaPomorie Resort Shuts Down, Lays Off Hundreds

The huge Sunset Resort in Pomorie, locally known as "The Dutch Village", will not be opening next summer. That was announced by Pomorie Mayor Ivan Alexiev at a meeting with representatives of the local tourist industry on November 17. "The Dutch Village has gone bankrupt. 3,000 beds in it are locked. It is not opening!" said the Mayor.

He fears a grave shock for the town's tourism industry.

The upscale five-star resort comprises five apart-hotels and six deluxe waterfront villas, on a total built up area of 115,000 sq.m. Its outdoor facilities span more than 3,500 sq.m.

The Mayor said that 450 - 500 people have already been laid off and blamed this development on "inadequate state policy in the field of tourism".

The hotel owners attending the meeting urged the mayor to take steps to help extend the season, including by making sure there are more events on the town's culture calendar in September. Others suggested more precise targeting of the advertising of Pomorie on markets such as Poland and the Czech Republic.

According to local government statistics for the past summer season, the number of Bulgarian tourists who came to Pomorie increased to a total of 51,064. Most of them, however, only spent long weekends and did not generate serious income for the local economy.

Surprisingly, Pomorie reported a drop in the number of tourists in August, which is a traditional peak season month. In June, however, the increase was 106% from last year's figures. Most of the foreign guests were from Romania, followed by those from Germany.