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Year-round mountain tourism
Pari Daily, 09.09.2004
THE IDEA for development of the region of Samokov, Borovets and Beli Iskar implies intensification of tourism, Bulgarian deputy minister of economy Dimitar Hadjinikolov says. He heads the working group that has to prepare a concept for development of tourism in the region and submit it for approval to cabinet by November 2. The group, which includes deputy ministers Meglena Plugchieva of agriculture, Manoela Georgieva of environment, Kiril Ananiev of finance and Ilko Yotsev of energy, as well as experts from the different ministries, convenes for a second time today to analyse and assess the factors hampering tourism development in Borovets and offer measures to enhance the quality of the tourist product and improve the infrastructure. The hotel base in the resort in insufficient at present, since tourist flow has risen by more than 25% over the past three years. According to the project, the number of beds will increase to 19,000 and new ski runs will be built with a total length of 90 km. The implementation of the project is part of Bulgaria's candidacy to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2014. The development of the resort will cost at least BGN 300 million, the authors of the idea say. The money will be provided by private investors mainly. A joint venture has been already set up between the municipality of Samokov, which contributes 80 hectares of land, and private companies. The support given by the state for the private initiative is a guarantee that this time the business will not be hampered by administrative obstacles. The project will undoubtedly secure considerable benefits for the tourism sector, the region and the country as a whole. The unemployment rate in Samokov is 20%, and reaches some 80% among the local Roma residents. According to mayor Olimpi Katev, the project will secure a lot of jobs, including for Roma. see source
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