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`A nice evening drive over the smooth road through Plovdiv ended in the town in Karlovo (144 km east of Sofia). A group of close friends invited me to spend a merry weekend with them in the birthplace of Bulgaria's greatest hero Vassil Levski (1837- 1873). Levski dedicated his life to freeing the Bulgarians from the Ottoman Empire and managed to set up a network of secret revolutionary committees throughout the country. The Ottoman police persecuted him for years and caught him in the end. He was hanged in Sofia. But Karlovo is home to other famous people; it's also the birthplace of the father of poet Hristo Botev, another Bulgarian hero. Dr. Ivan Bogorov was the publisher of the first Bulgarian newspaper and brothers Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi who had the Sofia University built. With this in mind, it's not strange that there are many museums in Karlovo. But that's not where we headed first. After travelling no matter what distance, all I really desire is a hot bath and a good meal.

The number of British tourists visiting Bulgaria's winter resorts is expected to jump up by 50% this season, as compared to winter 2003, media said Sunday.

Up to 50,000 Britons are expected in Bulgaria over the next months, Bulgaria's Dnevnik daily said, citing data from the World Travel Market bourse in London.

Still, a good snowfall is believed to be crucial for attracting the British interest.

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Pamporovo, one of Bulgaria's biggest winter resorts expects an increased number of tourists coming to enjoy their winter holiday in the mountain.

Hotel union "Pamporovo 21 century" predicted that there would be at least a 12% increase in the number of tourists coming to the resort in the winter season. The forecast is based on the already singed contracts with foreign agencies.

The official opening of the winter season in Pamporovo will take place December 11.

Pamporovo is expected to meet the upcoming winter season with a new 5-star hotel, along with a new ski lift and many ski facilities.

Who would buy a rural property in the middle of nowhere in Bulgaria? The Brits, that’s who. Our correspondent visits the towns where homebuyers are snapping up houses for £5,000
  
Mihail Chobanov is a young man in a hurry. Juggling two mobile phones and swerving to avoid the odd donkey cart as he guns his Mercedes at more than 100mph along the pitted roads of southeastern Bulgaria, he has little time to reflect on the runaway success of his property business.  

The millionth passenger to land on the coastal airport of Burgas this year was heartily welcomed by Transport Minister Nikolay Vassilev on Saturday.

The 37-year-old electrical engineer Briton Paul Pierson, his wife Saritta and their two daughters Ashlie, 8, and Laura, 4, came to Bulgaria on board of a Bulgaria Holidays flight.

While the likes of Sunny Beach have been compared with Blackpool, all-inclusive resorts such as Elenite (above) are aiming for more well-to-do customers.
These past few years have been nervous times for world tourism. Popular short-haul destinations such as Spain are doing all they can to stanch an ebbing tide, but one former joke destination is having the last laugh: Bulgaria.

So you’ve been to Bansko in the winter. You’ve tried to walk its crowded streets and tried to find a parking space.
You’ve been skiing in the day and drinking in the mehani (taverns) at night - if you found a table - and you probably think there is nothing much to do in Bansko in the summer and it is nothing but a sleepy town.
Well, you are wrong.

An investment of 18 million BGN (9 mln. Euros) is to be made at Pamporovo winter resort till the start of the new season. This was announced during a business meeting between Cvetelina Borislavova - Chairperson of the Supervisors Council of CIBank and the mayor of the town of Smoljan – Mrs. Dora Yankova. The meeting was organized by the Regional Governor Mr. Dimitar Palagchiev.

The number of tourists from the European Union (EU) coming to Bulgaria has gone up by over 46 percent.

More and more tourists from UK, Germany as well as from different Central European countries come to Bulgaria. Their number has increased by 25,3 percent just in five months, Bulgaria's Economy Ministry reported.

Bulgaria, one of the richest European countries in historical vestiges, seeks to make tourists discover its inheritance.

But it butts against a lack of funds and poor infrastructures.

"Bulgaria is one of the richest European countries in ancient and medieval monuments. Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it has kept traces of civilizations Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Slavic and Islamic ", the director of the national historical museum, Bozhidar Dimitrov, underlined.