The decline in trade, hotels and restaurants is about 20% compared to the forecast expectations for 2019.

The crisis caused by the coronavirus deprives Bulgarian tourism of approximately 800m euros, which cannot be offset by reimbursement costs even if Bulgarians stay on holiday in the country (the expected difference is approximately 600m euros). This is one of the conclusions in the analysis of BAS about the challenges facing tourism in our country in the context of the Covid crisis.

The pandemic has put unprecedented pressure on the tourism industry in Bulgaria. For the months of the blockades - April, May, June, even before the start of the active summer season, the collapse is over 90 percent in the realized nights and in the number of overnight stays.

The decline in trade, hotels and restaurants is about 20% compared to the forecast expectations for 2019 (and actually about 18% of the levels in 2019), with the most affected municipalities that rely on mass attraction of foreigners. The main job loss is also concentrated there, the report said.

According to analysts, the reduction in VAT on restaurants does not seem to be effective relative to consumer prices, but this may be a partial effect of gray activities in the sector.

If there is a new wave of Covid-19 in December, analysts recommend finding a solution for reduced capacity, but not to close hotels, because the December holidays are the greatest opportunity to compensate for at least some losses, so to wait for the next season and to be able to service the loans.

Although the Ministry of Tourism has not yet announced official summary data for the summer season, which usually takes place in October, the Minister of Tourism Mariana Nikolova reported that Summer 2020 records a very serious outflow of foreign tourists.

Source: www.investor.bg/