BalREC: The Holiday Market – Sea, Mountain, Spa or Golf

Today was the second day of the Balkan Real Estate Conference – Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia (BalREC) held at the Kempinski Hotel Zografski in Sofia. One of the more interesting panels of the day was Panel 3 on the topic of “The Holiday Market – Sea, Mountain, Spa or Golf” moderated by the CEO of BulgarianProperties Mihail Chobanov.

The speakers who took part in this panel included leading developers, a hotel expert and the Deputy Mayor of the Razlog Municipality. The key points mentioned by the panelists during the discussion could be described as follows:

• The investors in Bulgaria are here to work with long-term plans which results in stability and security on the holiday real estate market and in quality of the buildings;
• Bulgaria has great potential regarding the holiday property market and it has to develop it wisely, with long-term planning;
• What makes a holiday home desirable to the potential buyer is the location, the return on the investment and the possibility to resell the property with a profit;
• Bulgaria has an immense potential to turn into a leading golf destination and this is to happen in the coming years if the resources are managed sensibly and shrewdly.

In conclusion the panelists discussed how the holiday real estate market can improve: with proper planning before the actual developing takes place, with strong and far-sighted local administration, with adequate financial resources and with cooperation between the developers and the municipality.

The question underlying the whole discussion was how Bulgaria can attract foreigners. The common opinion was that a foreign tourist usually looks for something they don’t have in their country and that Bulgaria offers the whole package: sea, mountains, mineral springs and marvelous countryside. Another key feature mentioned that attracts foreign tourists is the good infrastructure and the proximity to an international airport.

Some of the issues that were talked about during the discussion were also part of the demands of Bulgaria's National Tourism Board which insisted on the founding of a Ministry of Tourism that would advertise the country as a top tourist destination. The panelists said that without a well developed tourism industry in Bulgaria there can't be a lucrative holiday home market.

The overall assessment of the panelists regarding the holiday real estate market was positive and Bulgaria, though still having a lot to learn in the holiday property sphere, is going in the right direction.


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