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The offers are only a tenth of last year.
People first ask about sanctions if they fail
travel, and only then look at the prices
This year’s Christmas and New Year overseas travel packages will include a PCR test included in the package. This showed a “24-hour” inspection in the main travel agencies, which despite the crisis still offer to spend holidays abroad. The offers for abroad and for the country, as a number, are approximately one-tenth of last year, and the differences in prices with respect to the previous year are difficult to detect.
At least six of the ten largest Bulgarian tour operators include in the package price not only medical insurance, which also covers the costs of stay, quarantine and treatment of COVID-19, but they have also added a PCR test in case the country introduces it. requirement.
This is financially quite risky for businesses, because if the package price for one person is around BGN 500, PCRs for a family of four will also cost around BGN 500. However, most likely tour operators have contracted with laboratories in case testing is required, they will pay for it at wholesale prices.
Although units, there are no offers for
exotic travel
at Christmas and New Years for Brazil, Tanzania, South Africa and others. However, it will hardly be necessary to do PCR there, because it is now summer in the southern hemisphere and the spread of the pandemic is not so strong that the authorities will have to require a negative test to enter the country.
“The process began in late September, when a new wave of the pandemic was rumored to be imminent. Colleagues have signed contracts with laboratories or at least have agreements, “the president of the Bulgarian Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies, Dimitar Popov, explained to” 24 hours “.
However, the industry complains that even the few people who are interested in Christmas and New Year deals first ask what the penalties are if they can’t get out due to border closures. Also, when will they get their money back, and only then will they look at the prices.
It is important to know that the reservations that are currently being made are anticipated
Return
of the whole
Paid in advance
quantity inside
at 14 days
as of the date the trip is postponed, as generally stated in the Tourism Law.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the tourism industry of our country managed to recover the amounts in 12 months and this was written in article 25 of the Law of Measures and Actions during the state of emergency. In September, however, the European Commission asked Bulgaria to defend the need for such a temporary measure within two months, and the old situation returned to Bulgaria.
However, for reservations made before the end of September, the rule is that the money is fully refunded within 12 months.
The offers for Christmas and New Years are not even a tenth of those of last year. Even the largest tour operators offer a limited number of New Year’s deals in Bansko, Pamporovo, Borovets, Hissarya, etc., as well as the usual Ohrid, Belgrade, Istanbul, Antalya, Greece and others.
4 days by bus to Istanbul to celebrate the New Year there, for example, it is worth it
BGN 485, but without
New Year Eve
Dinner
The same program for Ohrid costs 418 BGN, but for the advance bookings that are currently being made, otherwise the price is 475 BGN.
Almost the same amount spends 4 days at Christmas or New Years in a 4-star hotel in Bansko or Borovets (for ski equipment prices, see below).
An additional difficulty in spending Christmas and New Years in Bulgaria is the problem of restaurants. According to the order of the Minister of Health, which is currently valid until the end of November,
the restaurants don’t
You can work
after 11.30 pm
If this restriction is extended for one more month, all restaurants and clubs that raise money for New Year’s envelopes will be virtually violators.
Some tour operators also offer air travel for holidays in Vienna, Prague, Budapest and elsewhere, which cost around BGN 1000 per person. All of them have mandatory medical insurance, which covers the costs of quarantine and treatment of COVID-19. However, this insurance does not apply to people over 65 years of age, for which it is paid separately and more expensively.
Exotic trips: in Thailand, Brazil, Tanzania, South Africa and other places, they are generally 10 days, starting in the days before Christmas and returning after January 1, 2021. They
costs a minimum
4,000 BGN per person
However, the risk of these trips is very high, because if you register below the minimum number of clients, which is now quite possible, the trip fails.
The tour operator will return the payment after the New Year, but people who do not want to stay home for the holidays will have to find a place to go.
It should be noted that January, February and March are
almost empty
excursions
and many tour operators appear to have completely canceled the first quarter of 2021. Most of the new offers are from April, apparently in the hope that by then mass vaccination will begin and the pandemic subsides.
“This phenomenon is not only in our country, foreign tour operators also
wrote
this winter
and make programs directly for the summer of 2021 and for the next winter, ”said Dimitar Popov.
Two days ago, for example, Balkan Holidays announced that it was suspending its entire charter flight program for Bulgaria this winter, and that this company was bringing in many Brits.
This year, however, no one has the illusion that the British will come. Only tourists from Turkey are expected to grow. 144 thousand inhabitants of our southern neighbor vacationed in Bulgaria between December 2019 and March 2020.
Last winter, 1.5 million foreign tourists arrived in Bulgaria, but this winter its decline is expected to be at least 60% and may reach 80%. Many hotels in winter resorts will not work and you must check very carefully in advance where they will open.
Elevator tickets will also be valid during the summer.
As compensation for the previous ski season, which was interrupted due to the pandemic, Yulen customers in Bansko will receive an extension of the season tickets already purchased for the whole year, announced the concessionaire of the ski area. These are family and seasonal cards, which can be purchased until the end of November at a promotional price of BGN 1,300 per adult.
The concessionaire will introduce a series of anti-epidemic measures: the elevator cabs will be limited to the number of passengers, their windows and locks will be open at all times, and there will be warning signs in the queues of the stations to maintain a distance of at least one meter with fifty between waits.
Borovets and Pamporovo have also announced the prices of their ski equipment for the next season, and are also introducing a sales system for ski and snowboard services that limit physical contact. In Borovets, for example, packages can be purchased through the resort’s website and through its mobile app. The opening of the ski season is scheduled for December 19, but it can happen earlier if there is enough snow.
Borovets lift ticket prices start at BGN 48 for half a day for adults and go up to BGN 1,000 for the entire season including night ride.
In Pamporovo, starting this winter, there are collection devices installed throughout the resort, from which, by contacting a QR code, you can get the contactless plastic cards of the ski facilities, which have been paid in advance online. This will allow skiers to avoid any physical contact when purchasing or reloading the cards.
Another novelty in Pamporovo is the daily card for children and young people from 12 to 18 years old, which includes the use of the ski lift and ski equipment at a price of BGN 49, as well as a similar one for adults. The launch of a new “First Steps in Skiing” program with promotional discounts for beginners in winter sports is also expected.
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